Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated the country's top military growth engine DRDO for the first successful test of a Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle or HSTDV.
"Congratulations to @DRDO_India for successful flight of the Hypersonic Test Demonstration Vehicle today. The scramjet engine developed by our scientists helped the flight achieve a speed 6 times the speed of sound! Very few countries have such capability today," PM Modi tweeted.
The HSTDV can be used for futuristic missile system and aircraft. The test was conducted today off the coast of Odisha.
So far, Russia, China and the US have been developing hypersonic test vehicles. A hypersonic cruise missile, once developed, can defeat any Chinese defensive system, scientists said.
Defence Research and Development Organisation or DRDO called it a "historic mission", which was "a giant leap in indigenous defence technologies and significant milestone" towards a self-reliant and empowered India.
Calling it a "major technological breakthrough," DRDO chief Dr Satheesh Reddy said: "This testing 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".
Congratulating the scientists, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted a video of the launch.
Hypersonic technology deals with movement at least five times the speed of sound, termed Mach 1. Hypersonic speed is generally accepted to be Mach 5, or 3,836.35 miles per hour in conditions of 20 degrees Celsius at sea level. The conditions are important since the speed of sound can vary according to temperature and height. The Indian hypersonic test vehicle flies six times the speed of sound, the DRDO said.
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