In what is being billed as a major milestone in developing next-generation hypersonic missiles, Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), a Hyderabad-based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), conducted the ground test of active cooled scramjet combustor for the first time.
The ground test of scramjet combustor demonstrated its potential for operational use in hypersonic vehicles, like successful ignition and stable combustion.
Hypersonic missiles are a class of advanced weaponry that travel more than 5,400 km per hour. These advanced weapons can bypass existing air defence systems and deliver rapid and high-impact strikes. The key to hypersonic vehicles is scramjets, which are air-breathing engines capable of sustaining combustion at supersonic speeds without using any moving parts.
Scramjet combustor incorporates an innovative flame stabilisation technique that holds continuous flame inside the combustor with air speed in excess of 1.5 km/s.
Many novel and promising ignition and flame-holding techniques were studied through ground tests in arriving at scramjet engine configuration.
Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation tools were used for their evaluation and performance prediction.
The indigenous development of endothermic scramjet fuel, the first time in India, jointly by DRDL and Industry is central to this breakthrough, the defence ministry said in a release.
Another major achievement is the development of highly advanced Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) which is designed to withstand extreme temperatures encountered during hypersonic flight.
“The achievement marks a crucial milestone in the development of next-generation hypersonic missiles,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
