Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle: All You Need to Know

India successfully tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle on September 7, 2020, which has been indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

With this move, India has joined an elite group of countries- Russia, the United States, and China, who already possess this advanced technology. This is also the biggest achievement by DRDO in terms of proving new technology, after the anti-satellite test conducted in 2019.

The successful testing of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle comes amid the rising tensions between India and China because of the intrusions by the Chinese troops into the Indian territory leading thousands of troops facing off across the border.

Successful testing of Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV):

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated its Hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology along with a flight test from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, Odisha.

The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for the hypersonic speed flight. The vehicle was launched on September 7 using an in-service strategic missile and was taken to an altitude of 30 km. After the successful separation from the missile, the cruise vehicle separated and attained a speed of Mach 6- six times the speed of sound, for over 20 seconds.

The successfully tested and fired HSTDV has a range of users, which includes the missiles of the future for air defence, low cost, and reusable satellite-launch vehicles, surveillance and reconnaissance beside in the development of energy-efficient.

How the testing of HSTDV will be beneficial for India?

As per Rajeshwari Rajagopalan, an expert on space and nuclear technology at a New-Delhi based think tank, what gives this hypersonic missile its potency is the speed at which it travels.

Countries such as China and Russia have already perfected this technology which makes it more essential for India to acquire it. She further adds, that this test will put India in an elite club of nations but India still will have to perfect the technology with many more tests.

It is a quick reaction missile which makes it valuable in an offensive as well as in defensive uses. According to Rajagopalan, in case of defence it can be used to intercept incoming missiles in the outer atmosphere or in the inner atmosphere. It will also help add to India’s ballistic missile defence capabilities.

What does the successful testing of HSTDV prove?

The successful testing of the Vehicle proves that now India has the ability to achieve the hyper speed, validating the critical technologies like the maturity of the scramjet engine, performance of high-temperature materials, and aerodynamic design for the sustained light.

As per DRDO, the scramjet engine worked at high dynamic pressure and at a very high temperature. During the testing, a ship was also deployed in the Bay of Bengal to monitor the performance during the cruise phase of the hypersonic vehicle. All the performance parameters have been indicating a resounding success of the mission.