{"id":63951,"date":"2026-01-10T21:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=63951"},"modified":"2026-01-10T21:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:06:06","slug":"drdo-hypersonic-missiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-01-2026\/drdo-hypersonic-missiles","title":{"rendered":"DRDO Achieved a Key Milestone in the Development of Hypersonic Missiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Defence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)<\/strong> has achieved a key milestone in the <strong>development of hypersonic missiles<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>DRDO has successfully conducted an extensive long-duration ground test of its <strong>Actively Cooled Scramjet Full Scale Combustor<\/strong> at the state-of-the-art <strong>Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The trial achieved a run time of over <strong>12 minutes,<\/strong> marking a <strong>path-breaking <\/strong>milestone in the <strong>development of hypersonic missile technology.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The test was conducted by the <strong>Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL),<\/strong> Hyderabad-based premier facility of the DRDO responsible for the <strong>design and development <\/strong>of state-of-the-art missile systems and technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hypersonic Missiles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Hypersonic Cruise Missile is capable of exceeding <strong>five times the speed of sound<\/strong> (over 6,100 km\/hr) for extended periods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>speed is achieved through<\/strong> a cutting-edge air-breathing engine, which utilises supersonic combustion to sustain long-duration flight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These missiles are also <strong>more maneuverable<\/strong>, which allows them to more easily evade air defence systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The two types of hypersonic weapons systems<\/strong> are Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGV) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The HGVs are launched from a rocket before gliding to the intended target while HCMs are powered by air-breathing high-speed engines or \u2018scramjets\u2019 after acquiring their target.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f1f1f1\" data-has-transparency=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43-1024x465.png\" alt=\"hypersonic missiles\" class=\"has-transparency wp-image-63953\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f1f1f1; aspect-ratio:2.202195641487793;width:430px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43-1024x465.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43-1536x697.png 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-43.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Types of Missile Systems in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ballistic Missiles: <\/strong>Ballistic missiles are designed to deliver a payload (usually a warhead) over long distances using a ballistic trajectory.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Due to their long-range capabilities and substantial payloads, ballistic missiles serve as deterrents and are integral to a nation&#8217;s strategic defence posture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM) includes Prithvi I, II, III.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM) are Agni-I, II, III, IV, V.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9ebeb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-44.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-63954\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9ebeb; width:416px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-44.png 800w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-44-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-44-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cruise Missiles:<\/strong> Cruise missiles are guided missiles that use aerodynamic lift to travel through the atmosphere, typically at subsonic or supersonic speeds.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Valued for their precision and flexibility, cruise missiles are often employed in tactical scenarios to eliminate specific targets with minimal collateral damage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Long-Range Cruise Missile is <strong>Nirbhay.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>BrahMos<\/strong> is a supersonic cruise missile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/pune\/in-missile-tech-milestone-scramjet-combustor-achieves-run-time-of-over-12-minutes-10465157\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has achieved a key milestone in the development of hypersonic missiles.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">DRDO has successfully conducted an extensive long-duration ground test of its Actively Cooled Scramjet Full Scale Combustor at the state-of-the-art Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The trial achieved a run time of over 12 minutes, marking a path-breaking milestone in the development of hypersonic missile technology. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad-based premier facility of the DRDO responsible for the design and development of state-of-the-art missile systems and technologies. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-01-2026\/drdo-hypersonic-missiles\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63951"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63975,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63951\/revisions\/63975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}