The Ministry of Defence of India, through the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will soon begin conducting seaborne test launches of a new type of locally-built intercontinental submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capable of reaching hypersonic speeds.
The K-6 SLBMs being developed by the DRDO's Advanced Systems Laboratory will be deployed on a future class of Indian Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) that are expected to be larger and heavier than the navy's current Arihant-class SSBNs.
Each K-6 missile will have a length of 12 metres, a diameter of two metres, a range of around 8,000 kilometres, a top speed of Mach 7.5, and multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles. The latter will enable a single missile armed with either conventional or nuclear warheads to be used against multiple targets.
According to Indian media, the K-6 missile's capabilities will surpass those of the BrahMos cruise missiles and the K-4 and K-5 SLBMs.