India Carrier-Killer Missile: India’s new long-range anti-ship missile, called the LR-AShM, is being built by DRDO for the Indian Navy. It is meant to act like a shore-based sea threat, so the Navy can fire it from land and hit enemy warships from far away. In the official description, DRDO says, “This weapon system is designed to meet the coastal battery requirements of the Indian Navy.” It also says the LR-AShM is a “Hypersonic Glide Missile capable of engaging static and moving targets” and that it is “designed to carry various payloads.”
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Many reports call it a “carrier-killer” missile because it is meant to threaten big naval ships, including aircraft carriers. Some reports put its speed in the Mach 8 to Mach 10 zone, while official releases and defence reporting describe it more specifically as starting around Mach 10 and then averaging around Mach 5 during the glide phase. The missile is also described as using indigenous avionics and high-accuracy sensors, with a low-altitude and hard-to-detect flight path.
Where the program stands now
The programme is no longer just a paper dream. DRDO chairman Samir V Kamat said in April 2026 that the LR-AShM programme had reached an advanced stage and that initial trials were expected soon. India also carried out another successful test off the Odisha coast in early May 2026, which official and defence reporting described as the second flight test of the missile. Reuters had already reported in November 2024 that India had successfully tested a domestically developed long-range hypersonic missile, calling it a key military milestone.
Some defence reports also say user trials with the Indian Navy may begin between 2027 and 2028, with limited coastal deployment possibly happening before full induction around 2029 to 2030. That timeline is presented as a report-based estimate, not a hard official date. Even so, the direction is clear: the system is moving from testing into the next phase of real military use.
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Why India wants it
This missile matters because it can help India guard its sea lanes and push back enemy ships from a long distance. It may improve coastal defence, make naval task groups think twice, and give India a stronger hand in the Indian Ocean Region. It also fits the larger push for “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, since the missile is being developed inside India with DRDO labs and industry partners. DRDO’s own material says the weapon can follow a quasi-ballistic path, use moving-target sensors in its final phase, and stay difficult for enemy radars to track during much of the flight.
Along with LR-AShM, India’s wider missile work also includes systems like NASM-SR and Pralay, which shows that the country’s missile ecosystem is growing fast. In simple words, India is trying to build more of its own powerful weapons instead of depending on outside sources, and the LR-AShM is one of the biggest pieces in that puzzle.
