Agni ( missile ) The Agni missile ( Sanskrit : अग्नि , Agnī , " fire " and also the Hindu god of fire ) is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India , named after one of the five elements of nature . Agni Missiles are long range , nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missile . The first missile of the series , Agni - I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and tested in 1991 . After its success , Agni missile program was separated from the IGMDP upon realizing its strategic importance . It was designated as a special program in India ' s defence budget and provided adequate funds for subsequent development . As of 2008 , the Agni missile family comprises three deployed variants while two more variants are under testing : Agni - I . The two - stage Agni technology demonstrator , with a solid - fuel first stage , was first tested at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur in 1989 . It was capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1 , 000 kg ( 2 , 200 lb ) or a nuclear warhead . This original technology demonstrator evolved into the solid - fuel Agni - 1 and Agni - 2 missiles . India first developed the two - stage 2000 km range Agni - 2 , testing it in 1999 . It then used the first stage of this system to develop the 700 km range single - stage Agni - 1 , which was first tested in January 2002 . Weighing 12 tonne with a length of 15 metres , Agni - 1 has a range of 700 – 1250 km and is capable of carrying a conventional payload of or a nuclear warhead at a speed of 2 . 5 km / s . Agni missiles consist of one ( short range ) or two stages ( intermediate range ) . These are rail and road mobile and powered by solid propellant s . Agni - I is used by the Strategic Force Command ( SFC ) of the Indian Army . On 13 July 2012 , India test fired Agni I successfully at Wheeler Island off Orissa coast . Agni - II . Agni - II with a range of 2 , 000 – 2 , 500 km is 20 metres long , has a diameter of one metre , and weighs around 18 tonnes . Agni – II uses solid propellant in both of its two stages . They are claimed to be a part of the " credible deterrence " against China and Pakistan . India stated that its nuclear and missile development programmes are not Pakistan - centric , that the Pakistani threat is only a marginal factor in New Delhi ' s security calculus , and that Agni is at the heart of deterrence in the larger context of Sino - Indian equation . The Strategic Forces Command , as a part of user trials , is to launch Agni - II on 9 August 2012 from the Wheeler Islands off the Orissa coast , after it successfully launched Agni - I missile on 13 July 2012 . The 2000 km range nuclear weapon capable missile , already inducted into country ' s arsenal , was successfully launched as a training exercise by the armed forces on 9 August 2012 . India on 7 April 2013 test - fired its nuclear capable Agni - II strategic ballistic missile from a military base in Odisha . The test was conducted from Wheeler ' s Island in Bhadrak district , around 200 km from here , by army personnel as part of a training exercise . The medium - range surface - to - surface missile with a range of over 2 , 000 km has already been inducted into the army and is part of the Strategic Forces arsenal for nuclear deterrence . Agni - III . Agni - III is the third in the Agni series of missile s . Agni III uses solid propellant in both stages . Agni - III was tested on 9 July 2006 from Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa . After the launch , it was reported that the second stage of the rocket did not separate and the missile had fallen well short of its target . Agni - III was again tested on 12 April 2007 , this time successfully , again from Wheeler Island . On 7 May 2008 India again successfully test fired this missile . This was the third consecutive test ; it validated the missile ' s operational readiness while extending the reach of India ' s nuclear deterrent to most high - value targets of the nation ' s most likely adversaries . Agni - III has a range of 3 , 500 km , and can take a warhead of 1 . 5 tonnes . It has been reported that the missile ' s circular error probable ( CEP ) lies in the range of 40 meters , This would make the Agni - III most accurate strategic ballistic missiles of its range class in the world . This is of special significance because a highly accurate ballistic missile increases the " kill efficiency " of the weapon ; it allows Indian weapons designers to use smaller yield nuclear warheads ( 200 kiloton thermonuclear or boosted fission ) while increasing the lethality of the strike . This permits India to deploy a much larger nuclear force using less fissile / fusion material ( plutonium / lithium deuteride ) than other nuclear powers . Older ballistic missiles , such as those deployed by earlier nuclear powers required larger yield ( 1 – 2 megaton ) warheads to achieve the same level of lethality . It has also been reported that with smaller payloads , the Agni - III can hit strategic targets well beyond 3 , 500 km . Agni - IV . Agni - IV is the fourth in the Agni series of missiles which was earlier known as " Agni II prime " . Agni - IV was tested on 15 November 2011 from Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa . The missile was successfully test - fired again on 19 September 2012 for its full range of 4 , 000 km from the Wheeler Island , off the Orissa coast . The missile lifted off from a road mobile launcher at 11 . 48 a . m . and after zooming to an altitude of over 800 km , it re - entered the atmosphere and impacted near the pre - designated target in the Indian Ocean with remarkable degree of accuracy following a 20 - minute flight . Carrying a payload of explosives weighing a tonne , the missile re - entered the atmosphere and withstood searing temperatures of more than 3 , 000 °C . With a range of 3 , 000 – 4 , 000 km Agni - IV bridges the gap between Agni II and Agni III . Agni IV can take a warhead of 1 tonne . It is designed to increase the kill efficiency along with a higher range performance . Agni IV is equipped with state - of - the - art technologies , that includes indigenously developed ring laser gyro and composite rocket motor . It is a two - stage missile powered by solid propellant . Its length is 20 meters and launch weight 17 tonnes . It can be fired from a road mobile launcher . Agni - V . Agni - V is a solid fueled intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) of India . It will greatly expand India ' s reach to strike targets more than 5 , 000 km away . Agni - V was test fired successfully on 19 April 2012 at 08 : 07 am IST from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa . Agni - V ICBM has been designed with the addition of a third composite stage to the two - stage Agni - III missile . To reduce the weight it is built with high composite content . The 17 . 5 - metre - long Agni - V would be a canister launch missile system so as to ensure that it has the requisite operational flexibility and can be swiftly transported and fired from anywhere . Agni - V weighs around 49 tonnes ; one tonne more than Agni III and a much longer range . Canister launched version of Agni 5 to be tested sometime in July 2013 . The second test launch of Agni - V was successfully done on 15 September 2013 at 08 : 43 am IST from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast . Agni - VI . Agni - VI is an intercontinental ballistic missile reported to be in early stages of development by India . It is to be the latest and most advanced version among the Agni ( missile ) program . It will be capable of being launched from submarines as well as from land , and will have a strike - range of 8 , 000 – 10 , 000 km with MIRVed warheads . Further developments . In May 2008 Indian scientists announced they had developed and patented a path - breaking technology that increases the range of missiles and satellite launch vehicles by at least 40 % . The enhanced range is made possible by adding a special - purpose coating of chromium - based material to a rocket ' s blunt nose cone . The material acts as a reactive - ablative coating that forms a thin low density gaseous layer at the tip of the rocket as it approaches hypersonic speeds ; this super - heated gas layer reduces drag by 47 % ( at mach 7 – 8 ) , thereby allowing range enhancements at least 40 % . It has been announced that this technology will be incorporated in future Agni deployments after having undergone ranging and calibration tests .