DRDO Tests Made In India Hypersonic Technology Capable Of Reaching Mach 6 Speed Via Scram-Jet Engine

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday (12 June) test fired the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore district in Odisha along with other several technologies, The Hindu reports.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) made the announcement and said that the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh witnessed the launch of the indigenously developed vehicle. The missile was successfully launched at 11 am and was tracked by various radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical tracking sensors on its course, the MoD said.

According to a defence source, the DRDO undertook the test to validate various technology including the HSTDV. “Some technologies have been validated while some remained inconclusive of which the data is being analysed,” the source said.

Former DRDO Chief VK Saraswat, in 2008, said that the aim of the HSTDV project was to demonstrate the “performance of a scram-jet engine at an altitude of 15 km to 20 km.” With the scram-jet engine, the HSTDV can travel at Mach 6 (7408.8 km/h)