The Agni missile (Sanskrit: अग्नि, Agnī, "fire", 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:


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.