DRDO achieves major breakthrough in hypersonic missile programme with scramjet test

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday achieved a major milestone in India’s Hypersonic Missile Programme with the successful long-duration ground test of a full-scale, actively cooled scramjet engine.

The test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, at its state-of-the-art Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility on January 9. During the trial, the scramjet full-scale combustor operated continuously for over 12 minutes, marking a significant advancement in hypersonic propulsion technology.

According to DRDO, the achievement builds on an earlier long-duration subscale test carried out on April 25, 2025, and represents a crucial step towards the development of hypersonic cruise missiles. The combustor and the test facility were designed and developed in-house by DRDL, with manufacturing and realisation support from industry partners.

Hypersonic cruise missiles are capable of travelling at speeds exceeding Mach 5, more than five times the speed of sound, or over 6,100 km per hour, for sustained durations. This capability is enabled by an advanced air-breathing scramjet engine that uses supersonic combustion to maintain high-speed flight. The recent ground tests successfully validated both the advanced scramjet combustor design and the performance of the SCPT facility.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, its industry partners and academia for the successful test, stating that the achievement lays a strong foundation for India’s hypersonic cruise missile development programme.

Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development, and DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat also congratulated the teams involved, terming the successful test a commendable achievement in India’s pursuit of advanced aerospace and defence technologies.