India Advances HSTDV Tests
India’s DRDO is moving into Phase‑2 testing of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle as it chases sustained Mach‑5+ flight. The next phase focuses on scramjet propulsion and thermal‑protection challenges—exactly the CFD and materials problems high‑speed aero engineers are being asked to solve today.
[DRDL ran]airforce-technology.com a full‑scale, actively‑cooled scramjet combustor for over 12 minutes at the Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) Facility in Hyderabad on January 9, 2026. On April 25, 2025 [DRDL completed]business-standard.com a preceding subscale active‑cooled combustor ground test that sustained combustion for more than 1,000 seconds at the same Scramjet Connect Test Facility in Hyderabad. The Defence [Ministry stated]economictimes.indiatimes.com that the April 2025 subscale run cleared the way to prepare the system for full‑scale, flight‑worthy combustor testing as part of the next test campaign. DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V. [Kamat congratulated]nationaldefence.in Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems) U. Raja Babu and DRDL Director Dr G.A. Srinivasa Murthy for the sustained‑combustion milestones that the organisation says underpin Phase‑2 activity.
