‘Historic’ says Rajnath Singh as India successfully test-fires long-range hypersonic missile

India has successfully flight-tested a long-range hypersonic missile off Odisha coast, an achievement that has put the nation among a select group of countries with such critical and advanced military technologies. This is India’s first long-range hypersonic missile, indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The flight trial was conducted by DRDO from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha Coast on Saturday, in the presence of senior scientists of the research organisation and officers from the armed forces. The hypersonic missile is capable of carrying payloads for ranges greater than 1,500kms for the armed forces, DRDO said in a statement.

“The missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains. The flight data obtained from down-range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with high degree of accuracy,” it said. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded DRDO and other stakeholders for achieving this feat. Calling it a major milestone for India, Rajnath Singh said in a tweet, "India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha. This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies,” Singh tweeted.

According to reports, the successful test-fire has put the country among a select group of nations possessing weapons that can strike with extreme speed and evade most air defence systems. The missile was indigenously developed by the laboratories of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex, Hyderabad along with various other DRDO laboratories and industry partners.

Hypersonic missiles that are capable of carrying conventional explosives or nuclear warheads can fly in the range of five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 which is roughly 1,220km) per hour at sea level, PTI reported. However, some advanced hypersonic missiles can even fly at the speed of over Mach 15.

As per reports, while Russia and China are way ahead in developing hypersonic missiles, the US has launched an ambitious programme to develop a range of such weapons. Several other countries, including France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Iran, and Israel are also working on projects to develop hypersonic missile systems.