BHUBANESWAR/NEW DELHI: In a significant demonstration of India’s growing military prowess, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Saturday successfully flight-tested the country’s first long-range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off Odisha coast.
The test missile was launched from a ground-based mobile launcher positioned at the launching complex-IV of the Integrated Test Range at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island around 6.55 pm on Saturday.
The missile, developed by the laboratories of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, Hyderabad along with other DRDO laboratories and industry partners, can carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km, an official readout said.
At present, only a few countries like the US, Russia and China, have hypersonic missiles. These missiles can travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound or roughly around 6,200 kmph). With such extreme speed, manoeuvrability, and the ability to fly at lower altitudes than traditional ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles are harder to detect and intercept.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the missile test on Saturday under the country’s first long-range hypersonic mission as a “stupendous” achievement and a “historic moment”. “The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Sources told this newspaper that the test was “a stupendous success as the test missile covered around 1,400 km in its first attempt validating all its subsystems and exhibiting excellent terminal manoeuvres”.
Also, it was the first time the DRDO conducted the experimental trial of an indigenously-designed and developed missile after sunset.
Arms race
Russia and China have made significant progress in developing their own hypersonic missiles
The US is in the process of developing a range of hypersonic weapons
Other countries, including France, Germany, Japan, Iran, and Israel, are also pursuing projects to build hypersonic missiles