In missile tech milestone, Scramjet combustor achieves run time of over 12 minutes, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• DRDO successfully tested its Actively Cooled Scramjet Full Scale Combustor for over 12 minutes at the Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility.
• The test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad.
• This achievement follows a subscale test on April 25 of last year that lasted for more than 1000 seconds.
• Hypersonic cruise missiles can exceed five times the speed of sound, or over 6,100 kilometers per hour.

Detailed Insights:

• The Actively Cooled Scramjet Combustor and SCPT facility were designed and developed by the DRDL and manufactured by industry partners.
• Scramjet technology uses a supersonic combustion process within an air-breathing engine to achieve sustained hypersonic flight.
• This successful test places India among the leading nations in the development of advanced aerospace and hypersonic missile technology.
• In January of last year, the DRDL demonstrated an Active Cooled Scramjet Combustor ground test for 120 seconds for the first time in India.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Scramjet: An air-breathing jet engine that uses supersonic airflow for combustion, enabling hypersonic speeds.
• Hypersonic Speed: Speed exceeding Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound (approximately 6,100 km/h).
• Combustor: A component of an engine where fuel is burned with an oxidizer to produce hot gas for propulsion.