On Monday, the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India conducted a successful test run of the HSTDV. The Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle with its indigenous scramjet engine has taken India closer toward the hypersonic cruise missile.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday congratulated DRDO for its achievement. What is the HSTDV and why is it important to Atmanirbhar Bharat
The Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle
On Monday morning India witnessed a landmark moment as it successfully tested the HSTDV. Now, the country joins the league with US, Russia and China as the 4th to test hypersonic technology.
The test run of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle took place at the APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island in Odisha. DRDO shared the achievement, "In a historic mission today, India successfully flight tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), a giant leap in indigenous defence technologies and significant milestone towards a #sashaktbharat and #atmanirbharbharat"
The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet vehicle which is being developed as a carrier vehicle for long-range and hypersonic missiles. India has been aiming towards developing hypersonic missiles in the near future.
Even so, the HSTDV will have civilian applications including the launch of small satellites. The HSTDV employes a scramjet propulsion system, which has been indigenously developed. This will be a stepping stone towards developing the missile as well.
The next phase would also include missiles with the ability to travel at speeds six times that of the speed of sound, and which can be developed in the next five years or so, media reports suggest. The HSTDV was tested at 11:03 hours in the morning.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also congratulated the DRDO on its achievement. It'll be interesting to observe where India's defence ambitions will lead.
