India's DRDO Successfully Tests Solid Fuel Ramjet Technology

India'a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the demonstration of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.

The success places India among a select group of nations with SFDR capability, which is key to developing long-range air-to-air missiles and enhancing combat effectiveness.

All major subsystems, including the nozzle-less booster, SFDR motor, and fuel flow controller, performed as expected after initial acceleration to the required Mach number. The system’s performance was confirmed through flight data captured by tracking instruments along the Bay of Bengal.

Senior DRDO scientists from DRDL, HEMRL, RCI, and ITR monitored the launch.

Solid fuel ramjets allow lower fuel weight as compared to liquid fuel sustems. The ramjet will enable missiles to fly at much higher speeds and for longer duration compared to current generation misiles.