India’s reported development of a powerful new conventional missile has stirred serious concern in Pakistan, with experts warning of a significant shift in South Asia’s strategic balance. The missile—an advanced 7,500-kg version of the Agni-V platform—is designed to target deeply fortified underground installations and, according to Pakistani analysts, may blur the lines between conventional and nuclear warfare.
Developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), this new missile is not nuclear-armed like the traditional Agni-V. Instead, it carries a massive conventional warhead capable of penetrating 80 to 100 meters below ground. Such capability could allow India to strike high-value assets such as underground command bunkers, missile silos, and hardened storage depots.
A Game-Changing Weapon
Indian media reports suggest that the missile, owing to its heavy payload, has a reduced range of approximately 2,500 km—shorter than the intercontinental reach of Agni-V. However, its destructive power remains formidable. Two versions are reportedly under development: one designed to explode upon surface impact and another engineered to detonate underground after deep penetration—resembling the U.S. military’s GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
Defence analysts argue that the missile could provide India with a robust conventional option to neutralise enemy infrastructure, all while staying below the nuclear threshold. By holding even the most fortified enemy assets at risk, India aims to address regional asymmetries and boost its strategic deterrence posture.
Growing Concern in Pakistan
However, Pakistan is alarmed by the missile’s development. Writing in Dawn, Rabia Akhtar, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lahore, called it a “dangerous escalation” that threatens to undermine the region’s delicate strategic equilibrium.
“The ability to destroy command-and-control centres—which may also double as nuclear hubs—introduces a hazardous entanglement of conventional and nuclear strategies,” Akhtar warned. She cautioned that in a high-tension scenario, such a strike could trigger unintended and potentially catastrophic consequences.
One of Pakistan’s chief concerns is the potential confusion such a missile could cause in real time. As Akhtar points out, distinguishing a conventionally armed Agni variant from a nuclear one may prove difficult for early-warning systems, heightening the risk of miscalculation or pre-emptive response.
Strategic Influence and Global Precedent
The reported move by India comes amid recent U.S. In June, there were airstrikes on Iran’s underground nuclear sites at Fordow and Natanz. Analysts believe this demonstration of conventional deep-strike capability may have shaped India’s own approach, inspiring the pursuit of a similar non-nuclear deterrent in the region.
While India has yet to officially confirm the missile’s development, defence commentators suggest that itle deterrent to ensure survivability in high-threat environments, especially without resorting to nuclear escalation.
A Risky Strategic Shift
From Pakistan’s perspective, however, the implications are far-reaching. A missile that could conventionally target its most secure assets threatens to erode the stability offered by mutually assured destruction. “It creates uncertainty about intent,” Akhtar emphasised. You may be forced to assume the worst in a crisis—and act accordingly.”
The introduction of such a weapon marks a significant evolution in India’s strategic toolkit—one that gives the military new operational options while potentially destabilising a volatile region. Whether it acts as a deterrent or becomes a catalyst for crisis will largely depend on how both nations manage this new chapter in their security postures.
If operational, the weapon would rank among the world’s most powerful conventional missiles. Its potential to deliver a lethal payload without passing the nuclear threshold may provide a new alternative for Indian military strategists in the event of a high-stakes battle.
However, there is growing concern across the border about this trend. A professor at the University of Lahore’s Faculty of Social Sciences said in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper that this kind of weapon might cause a “hazardous entanglement” of normal weapons.and nuclear strategies. She contends that a missile capable of destroying command and control centres may also serve as a nuclear command system.
