India has successfully flight tested hypersonic technology that will pave the way towards development of missiles travelling at six times the speed of sound.
With this successful demonstration, the country enters an elite club to become a member of the hypersonic regime. This is a step towards manufacture of advanced Hypersonic Vehicles. India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to get this technology.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated the Hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) at 11:03 am on Monday from the APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. “The Hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using a proven solid rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 km, where the aerodynamic heat shields were separated at hypersonic Mach number,” said the DRDO in a statement.