Last month, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) unveiled a next-generation short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) at a defense exhibition in Hyderabad. Dubbed as the BM-04, the new missile is akin to the already deployed Agni-P nuclear-armed missile, with a range specific to striking Pakistan. The BM-04 reflects the ongoing efforts undertaken by India to develop and deploy advanced conventionally armed ballistic missiles with enhanced speed, maneuverability, and precision. The missile’s existence indicates that New Delhi seeks to develop a robust conventional counterforce capability.
The BM-04 is 10.2 meters long, 1.2 meters in diameter and weighs 11,500 kg. The missile has a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system; it can engage targets located at a maximum distance of up to 1,500 km, with a 500 kg conventional warhead, and has a 30-meter circular error probability (CEP). It can be deployed using a six-wheel indigenous transport erector launcher (TEL). Like the existing missiles in the Indian arsenal, the BM-04 is canisterized, which allows the warheads to be mated with the delivery systems in advance, thus reducing the time required to fire the projectile.
Once deployed, the BM-04 will be distinct from the previous missiles, as evident in the words of G.A. Srinivasa Murthy, who currently leads the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), a sub-unit of the DRDO. Murthy stated that the DRDL successfully produced a hypersonic missile with artificial intelligence (AI) assistance in December 2024. This implies that the BM-04 missiles can be regularly upgraded with new warheads, sensors, and propulsion systems as the threat matrix evolves. This will make the BM-04 a robust and reliable system that can withstand future threats.
According to its design and features, the BM-04 looks like a derivative of the Agni-P, only the newer version will be used for conventional strike roles. In addition, the missile re-entry vehicle appears similar to a boost glide vehicle, which is expected to attain hypersonic speed based on its outlook. This maneuverable re-entry vehicle can evade the adversary’s air defense systems. With its brisk speed, the BM-04 will engage time-sensitive targets, such as multi-launch rocket systems, ground-based missile launchers, and mobile surface-to-air missile systems. If these assertions are upheld, it will undoubtedly enhance the Indian military’s conventional counterforce capability.
Major General Roopesh Mehta, currently serving as additional director general (ADG) for Capability Development at the Integrated Headquarters of the Indian Army, hinted at the BM-04’s existence in his June 2023 article. In the article, he also emphasized establishing a new conventional rocket force. The BM-04’s development has reaffirmed India’s plans to establish an Integrated Rocket Force (IRF), as it was reported two years ago that the Indian military was considering equipping the newly proposed IRF with a ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km.
There is more to the BM-04 that meets the eye. New Delhi’s broader objective is to adopt a pre-emptive strike posture. In doing so, India aims to retain an option to conduct precision strikes against Pakistani conventional counterforce targets with high-speed conventional projectiles. It will boost India’s shoot-and-scoot capabilities because the rocket force will have solid fuel missiles in its arsenal, stored in canisters, allowing the military to launch them immediately. In addition, the BM-04 is tailored to neutralize the adversary’s critical infrastructure, including air bases, ammunition dumps, command-and-control centers, cantonments, and logistics nodes.
Why develop a longer-range conventional SRBM, even though the Indian military has already developed the Pralay, capable of destroying targets at a range of up to 500 km? With the operationalization of the BM-04, India can store these weapons deep into its territory, thus making it challenging for Pakistan’s conventional ground and air-based platforms to hit the missile launchers and storage sites.
If a missile regiment equipped with the BM-04 is stationed in the periphery of India’s XXI Corps (Strike Corps) headquarters, for example, it can easily take out targets located on Pakistan’s western borders. For Pakistan to strike potential BM-04 launch sites in Bhopal, Pakistan’s air force aircraft would have to travel some 100-150 kilometers deep into Indian territory before they can launch a Taimoor air-launched cruise missile with a possible range of 600 km. Pakistan’s ground-launched long-range conventional system, the Fatah-II, can only target a maximum distance of 400 km. The scenario implies that India’s BM-04 systems will have the luxury to strike potential targets in Pakistan from a safer distance.
Missiles can be built anytime, depending on the leadership’s approval. However, New Delhi’s mindset to effectively engage Islamabad’s conventional counterforce is dangerous. The BM-04 missile development confirms a military doctrine aimed at conducting limited operations under the nuclear umbrella at conventional and subconventional levels. The region’s strategic stability is not threatened by the BM-04, per se, but by the mindset that prevails in New Delhi.
Contemporary South Asian dynamics depict a growing military disparity between India and Pakistan. The BM-04 development signifies New Delhi’s attempt to diversify its conventional missile force and enhance its strike capabilities, aiming to target the adversary’s conventional counterforce targets. The missile development confirms a shift in New Delhi’s force posture, a harbinger that the Indian military seems set to rely more on ballistic missiles for conventional counterforce targeting in future conflicts. In a nutshell, with the BM-04’s existence, the risks of India initiating violence at the subconventional or conventional level remain plausible.