BM-04 short-range ballistic missile: DRDO reveals India’s latest hypersonic weapon

There’s one more addition to India’s growing arsenal of deadly missiles. The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has revealed a mock-up and details of the country’s latest short-range ballistic missile called BM-04 which is likely to have hypersonic speed.

While the missile’s flying speed was not mentioned, the design of the reentry vehicle armed with the warhead suggested it will be a boost-glide vehicle which means the BM-04 can fly at hypersonic speeds (Mach 5 and above). The missile will be used to neutralise enemy anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities and ensure that the Indian defence forces do not face any operational restrictions in a highly contested battlefield.

Only three other nations – Russia, United States of America and China – have hypersonic missiles in their arsenal.

The DRDO displayed the details of BM-04 during the Vigyan Vaibhav 2025 defence exhibition in Hyderabad. The missile’s full-scale model was also displayed along side the information board which showed that the BM-04 has an operation range of 400 to 1500 kilometres propelling it into the league of intermediate range ballistic missiles. However, the DRDO claims that it is a short-range missile.

The cannister launched, two-stage missile will use solid fuel to power its way to the enemy target. It will be armed with a 500 kilogramme conventional warhead and use the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System as well as the GPS to home in to the designated target.

The accuracy of the missile which is calculated as circular error probability (CEP) will be less than 30 metres, making it a highly accurate weapon. CEP measures the accuracy of ballistic missiles and at least 50 per cent of the BM-04s fired will fall within a radius of the designated 30 metres of the target.The 10.2 m long missile will have a a diameter of 1.2 m and weigh 11,500 kg. It will be road mobile giving the armed forces the ability to quickly deploy the missile system using the six-axle Tatra land-based launcher vehicle.The overall design of BM-04 closely resembles the Agni I-class short-range ballistic missile, suggesting that the DRDO is now taking forward the programme to develop hypersonic ballistic missiles.