India Enters Select Club, Displays Indigenously-Developed Hypersonic Flight Technology
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-09-07 17:16:09
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
India today successfully tested a Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. It brought the nation into an exclusive club of nations capable of using such technology. Only the US, Russia and China have so far demonstrated the possession of similar technology.
When a vehicle flies at hypersonic speed, it is flying at Mach 5 or 3836.35 miles per hour (Mach 1 being the speed of sound) at sea level with the temperature at 20 degrees Celsius. The Indian vehicle traveled at 2 kilometres per second for 20 seconds. The scientists described it as "textbook" flight.
The DRDO released a statement which said that "with this successful demonstration, many critical technologies such as aerodynamic configuration for Hypersonic manoeuvers, use of scramjet propulsion for ignition and sustained combustion at hypersonic flow, thermo-structural characterisation of high temperature materials, separation mechanism at hypersonic velocities etc" will be possible.
In a separate statement, the DRDO chief Dr Satheesh Reddy said that this is a "major technological breakthrough" and "paves the way for many more critical technologies, materials, and hypersonic vehicles' development. This puts India in a select club of nations which have demonstrated this technology".
The successful test has come at a time when India is engaged in a standoff at the LAC with China and needs to put pressure on its errant neighbour. With the HSTDV capable of being used with missiles and aircraft, it is expected that in the event of war, it can be used to penetrate China's defenses. Although India is still far away from developing a hypersonic cruise missile, by demonstrating the possession of indigenous technology to work on it, India has proved that it can, and will, develop such a system soon. It also proves that Indian scientists are capable of indigenously developing complex and critical technologies for the military and civilian needs of the nation.
The lead picture is a screengrab from the launch video tweeted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
