Going hypersonic

India on Monday successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle that is expected to power long-range missile systems.

WHY IS THE SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TEST OF THE VEHICLE SIGNIFICANT?

It paves the way for India to develop hypersonic weapons that can travel six times faster than the speed of sound (Mach 6).

The weapon will be integrated into the hypersonic vehicle.

WHICH OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE DEVELOPED HYPERSONIC TECHNOLOGY?

Only the US, Russia and China have developed technologies to field hypersonic weapons that fly at lower altitudes and are extremely hard to track and intercept. India could develop hypersonic missiles in four years.

WHAT WILL THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERSONIC MISSILES ENTAIL?

In Monday’s test, the cruise vehicle continued on its flight path at March 6 speeds or nearly 2 km/second for more than 20 seconds. The next challenge for India will be to ensure the cruise vehicle can travel at those speeds for a few hundred seconds for the weapon to strike its target.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES FOR HYPERSONIC FLIGHTS?

Extremely high temperatures and aerodynamic forces make hypersonic flights tricky. The successful flight test proved several critical technologies including aerodynamic configuration for hypersonic maneuvers, use of scramjet propulsion for ignition and separation mechanism at speeds in excess of Mach 6.

WHY ARE HYPERSONIC VEHICLES POWERED BY SCRAMJET ENGINES?

An improvement over the ramjet technology, the scramjet engine operates efficiently at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Ramjet engines are efficient at supersonic speeds of around Mach 3 but their performance drops when the vehicle hits hypersonic speeds.