India recently showcased significant missile capabilities with tests conducted on July 17, 2025, involving three missiles: Agni-1, Prithvi-2 (both nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles), and Akash Prime, a surface-to-air missile specially modified for high-altitude use. Agni-1 and Prithvi-2 have ranges allowing them to cover key strategic targets in Pakistan and China.
India successfully test-fired its new Pralay tactical missile twice in 48 hours on July 28 and 29, 2025. The tests, conducted from Integrated Test Range, are the final step before the missile’s full induction into the Indian Army. Pralay is designed for rapid, precision strikes, offering a major boost to India’s conventional war-fighting ability, especially amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan.
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Meanwhile, Akash Prime demonstrated precise, high-altitude interception capability, improving India’s layered air defence system. These tests, carried out with official notifications and safety protocols, affirm India’s operational readiness and indigenous missile technology advances, underscoring the country’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” defence mission.
How Do India’s Missile Tests Compare With Pakistan’s Recent Test Failures
India’s recent missile tests demonstrate a clear edge in operational maturity, indigenous technology, precision, and strategic readiness compared to Pakistan’s recent missile test failures.
India successfully tested three missiles on July 17, 2025 — Agni-1, Prithvi-2 (both nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles), and the Akash Prime surface-to-air missile adapted for high-altitude defence. These tests showcased precise targeting, advanced guidance, and mobility, confirming the missiles’ readiness and the strength of India’s indigenous missile development under the Strategic Forces Command.
India’s missile program includes advanced technologies such as Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) capability demonstrated earlier on Agni-V, hypersonic cruise missiles, and a layered ballistic missile defence system, enhancing credible deterrence and swift retaliation potential.
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In sharp contrast, Pakistan’s strategic missile program suffered a major setback shortly after, on July 22, 2025, when a test launch of the nuclear-capable Shaheen-III missile failed disastrously. The missile deviated from its trajectory and crashed near populated civilian areas in Balochistan, close to a key nuclear facility near Dera Ghazi Khan.
Videos and eyewitness accounts showed panic among locals, raising grave safety concerns. Unlike India’s successful and well-controlled missile tests, this failure exposed Pakistan’s recurring technical and safety issues with its strategic missile program. The crash resulted in a large explosion witnessed over a wide area, and Pakistani authorities imposed media restrictions afterward.
This incident is part of a pattern of missile test failures for Pakistan’s Shaheen-III, which has previously experienced crashes and malfunctions in 2023 and earlier years. The failure undermines Pakistan’s claims of missile reliability and raises questions over the safety of testing near sensitive nuclear installations and civilian populations.
Pakistan’s strategic missile program faces repeated setbacks, particularly with its Ababeel missile system designed to carry MIRVs as a counter to India’s ballistic missile defence. The Ababeel test in July 2025 (and previous tests) ended in failure, with missile debris falling near populated areas in Balochistan, exposing serious engineering shortcomings including quality control and technological deficiencies.
These failures hinder Pakistan’s ability to sustain a reliable second-strike nuclear capability and undermine confidence in its missile reliability and safety procedures during tests. Media suppression following such accidents further highlights operational challenges.
Pakistan relies heavily on Chinese technology and foreign inputs, lacking the indigenous precision India has demonstrated. The repeated failure of MIRV-capable missiles hampers its strategic posture and impacts the credibility of its nuclear deterrent strategy.
Moreover, India’s missile tests were conducted with full safety notifications (NOTAMs) and operational transparency, reinforcing military professionalism and preparedness. Pakistan’s failed tests near sensitive civil and nuclear sites pose risks to civilian safety and reflect poorly on operational discipline.
India’s missile program exhibits advanced, reliable indigenous missile systems with operational readiness and strategic deterrence confidence, while Pakistan’s missile program struggles with technological reliability, test safety, and operational credibility. The contrast reflects India’s superior technological development and strategic assurance versus Pakistan’s recurring missile test failures and engineering challenges.
Summary
India’s missile tests signal credible deterrence and swift retaliatory capacity, backed by home-grown technology and precise command and control systems. On the other hand, Pakistan’s missile failure highlights technological deficiencies, raises nuclear safety concerns, and currently casts doubt on its strategic missile readiness.
The stark contrast between India’s missile might and Pakistan’s failed missile flight reflects differing levels of operational maturity, indigenous development, and safety compliance in their respective missile programs.
IDN (With Inputs From The Print Web Portal)
Agency
