India’s Hypersonic Evolution: From Concept to Capability

India’s hypersonic ambition is on the verge of becoming a reality. This ambition that India has harboured since the 1990s is probably going to see the light of day sooner rather than later. On 30 April 2026, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman, Samir V Kamat, made an important reference regarding India’s hypersonic ambitions. He stated that “India’s LR-AShM [Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile] programme has reached an advanced stage, with initial trials expected soon.1” The statement carries more weight because it has come directly from the DRDO Chairman. Furthermore, DRDO is the lead agency developing India’s first hypersonic weapon. The development further got a boost when several Indian media houses published a report that on 1 May 2026, India successfully carried out the second flight test of the LR-AShM.2 This particular test, however, was not confirmed by the DRDO itself. For India, achieving hypersonic capability has become something of a national security imperative, given China’s advancement in the same domain, and this also explains the pace of development, which has accelerated over the years.