After US-Iran strike, India may be developing its own massive bunker busters
According to a report by India Today, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on an advanced conventional variant of the Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile. Unlike the original nuclear-capable Agni-5 with a range exceeding 5,000 km, the modified version will carry a massive 7,500-kg conventional warhead designed to target heavily fortified underground bunkers.
The new missile is expected to have a reduced range of around 2,500 km but will deliver significantly greater payloads and precision. Capable of penetrating up to 80 to 100 metres below the surface before detonation, it is being developed to neutralise hardened enemy targets such as command centres, missile silos, and other critical infrastructure buried deep underground in nations like Pakistan and China.
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India Today reported that two new versions of the Agni-5 are under development—one configured for airburst detonation against surface targets, and another specifically designed for deep-earth penetration, akin to the U.S. GBU-57. The latter is likely to feature a payload of up to eight tons, potentially making it one of the most powerful conventional warheads in the world.
Unlike the U.S., which relies on large bomber aircraft to deploy its bunker-buster bombs, India is opting for a missile-based delivery system. This approach not only reduces costs but also enhances operational flexibility and survivability.
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The new missiles are expected to achieve hypersonic speeds ranging from Mach 8 to Mach 20, placing them on par with some of the most advanced global weapon systems, the report added.
What are bunker busters?
Bunker busters are specialized missiles or bombs designed to destroy deeply buried and heavily fortified targets such as underground military bunkers, command centers, missile silos, and weapons storage facilities.
These weapons are built to penetrate layers of concrete, rock, and earth before detonating. The U.S. military's most powerful example is the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which was recently used against two Iranian nuclear facilities. According to Pentagon officials, these bombs were developed over more than 15 years using intelligence gathered specifically for those sites.
Made of dense steel and packed with high explosives, US bunker busters are equipped with delay fuses that control when the bomb detonates. A longer fuse allows the weapon to burrow deeper before exploding, maximizing its ability to destroy targets far below the surface.
Extensive testing has gone into refining these bombs. U.S. forces conducted hundreds of trials on mock underground facilities, fine-tuning the detonation timing to ensure that the pressure blast could travel through tunnels and effectively destroy critical equipment hidden beneath the earth.
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