In what comes as a groundbreaking milestone in India's hypersonic missile development, Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), the Hyderabad-based laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), successfully conducted an extended long-duration ground test of its Actively Cooled Scramjet Full Scale Combustor on Friday.
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The ground test achieved a run time of over 12 minutes at the advanced Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility. This successful test places India at the forefront of cutting-edge aerospace technology.
"The remarkable feat is achieved through cutting-edge air-breathing engine, which utilises supersonic combustion to sustain long-duration flight. The ground tests conducted at SCPT facility have successfully validated the design of the advanced scramjet combustor, as well as the capabilities of the state-of-the-art test facility," a release from the defence ministry stated.
This achievement builds on the success of an earlier subscale test that was held in April last year, also focused on long-duration performance, marking a key step in the development of hypersonic missile technology.
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Both the combustor and the testing facility were designed and developed by DRDL, with support from industry partners.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, industry partners and academia on the successful ground test, saying the achievement is a solid foundation for India's hypersonic cruise missile development programme.
A hypersonic cruise missile is a class of weapons that can travel more than five times the speed of sound (> 6100 Kmph) for a long duration and is powered by an air-breathing engine.