The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday successfully demonstrated the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
The test, conducted at around 10:45 am, marks a significant milestone in India’s missile development programme and places the country among a select group of nations possessing this advanced propulsion technology. SFDR technology is critical for the development of long-range air-to-air missiles, providing enhanced range, speed and manoeuvrability, and offering a substantial tactical advantage to the Indian armed forces.
According to DRDO, all major subsystems of the SFDR system performed as expected during the flight. These included the nozzle-less booster, the solid fuel ducted ramjet motor and the fuel flow controller. After initial acceleration by a ground booster to the required Mach number, the ramjet system functioned seamlessly, validating the design and performance parameters.
The performance of the system was confirmed through flight data captured by multiple tracking instruments deployed along the Bay of Bengal coast by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. Senior scientists from various DRDO laboratories, including the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and ITR, monitored the launch and test.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and its industry partners on the successful demonstration of SFDR technology. Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman, DRDO, Dr Samir V. Kamat also lauded the teams involved, congratulating them on the successful flight test and the collaborative effort behind the achievement.
