The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday marked a major milestone in India’s Hypersonic Missile Programme by successfully conducting a long-duration ground test of a full-scale, actively cooled scramjet engine.
The test was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, at its advanced Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility on January 9. During the trial, the full-scale scramjet combustor operated continuously for more than 12 minutes, representing a significant leap in hypersonic propulsion capability.
According to DRDO, the achievement builds upon a successful long-duration subscale test conducted on April 25, 2025, and marks a critical step towards the development of hypersonic cruise missiles. Both the combustor and the test facility were indigenously designed and developed by DRDL, with manufacturing and integration support from Indian industry partners.
Hypersonic cruise missiles can travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5—over five times the speed of sound, or more than 6,100 kmph—for sustained periods. This performance is enabled by advanced air-breathing scramjet engines that rely on supersonic combustion to maintain extreme speeds. The recent ground tests successfully validated the scramjet combustor design as well as the performance of the SCPT facility.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, its industry partners and academic collaborators, stating that the successful test has laid a strong foundation for India’s hypersonic cruise missile development programme.
DRDO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development, Dr Samir V Kamat, also lauded the teams involved, calling the achievement a significant milestone in India’s pursuit of cutting-edge aerospace and defence technologies.
