The DRDO has reportedly received a go-ahead from the MoD to develop the BM-04 Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM). A full-scale mock-up of the missile was unveiled at the Vigyan Vaibhav 2025 defence exhibition in Hyderabad (February 28 to March 2, 2025).
The design of the re-entry vehicle armed with the missile warhead suggests that it is a boost-glide hypersonic weapon. However, the placard placed next to the missile mock-up, displaying its specifications, did not specify its speed.
Specifications
The canister-launched missile is 10.2 metres long, 1.2 metres in diameter, and weighs 11,500 kg. It features a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system and carries a 500 kg conventional warhead.
It is deployed using a six-axle indigenous Transport Erector Launcher (TEL).
#DRDO's new BM-04 missile with MaRV warhead🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/pQMOpV3qDn
— News IADN (@NewsIADN) February 28, 2025
Missile Capabilities
The missile features a precision-strike-capable 500 kg conventional warhead and has a range of 400–1,500 km. It uses satellite-aided inertial navigation, incorporating GPS and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). A CEP of less than 30 m is claimed.
The BM-04 uses a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system and navigates using a combination of an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and a Satellite Navigation System (SATNAV). The missile does not have terminal homing capability and has a CEP of 30 metres.
Physical Characteristics
The missile features a conical-shaped re-entry vehicle, likely a boost-glide vehicle with a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB). The inclusion of a C-HGB, along with features such as fixed wings and control fins on the re-entry vehicle, suggests hypersonic speeds with manoeuvrability during both exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric phases, enabling evasion of radar and missile defence systems.
Analysis
The BM-04 shares visual and technological similarities with the Agni-I and Agni-Prime (Agni-P) missiles but is tailored for conventional roles, with a smaller payload and hypersonic capabilities.
The missile’s range allows it to be stored deep within Indian territory, complicating adversaries’ ability to target launch sites. Its canisterised design also supports a “shoot-and-scoot” capability for rapid, pre-emptive strikes.
The hypersonic enabling technologies for the BM-04 were likely developed under the Long-Range Hypersonic Missile (LRHM) programme, which was maiden-tested in November 2024.
Maneuvering hypersonic missiles have demonstrated the ability to penetrate the most advanced air defence systems in the world. The BM-04’s precision-strike capability and ability to operate in contested airspace would allow it to rapidly erode an adversary’s warfighting capability while remaining well below the nuclear escalation threshold.The @DRDO_India has successfully conducted a flight trial of its long range hypersonic missile on 16th Nov 2024 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha.
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) November 17, 2024
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh has congratulated DRDO, Armed Forces and the Industry for successful flight… pic.twitter.com/wq7yM2YS9f
The BM-04 missile and the Long-Range Hypersonic Missile (LRHM) tested by DRDO in November 2024 are likely not the same missile. However, they share technological similarities and are part of DRDO’s broader hypersonic missile development programme.
DRDO may have used the LRHM as a hypersonic boost-glide technology development and demonstration testbed. The “Long-Range” designation of the LRHM, along with the claimed range of more than 1,500 km in the PIB press release announcing the maiden test, suggests that the LRHM may eventually be developed into a long-range hypersonic missile.
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