NEW DELHI: A flight-test of solid fuel-based ducted ramjet (SFDR) technology, which is a missile propulsion system, was successfully conducted from the Chandipur integrated test range off the Odisha coast, at about 10.30am on Friday.
The DRDO said the SFDR technology will help it in developing longer range air-to-air missiles. After developing the first indigenous air-to-air missile Astra, which has a range of 100-km and flies over four times the speed of sound at Mach 4.5, the DRDO plans to begin testing a longer-range variant within the next few months.
This Astra Mark-2 will have a strike range of 160-km, while planning is also underway for a 350-km range Mark-3 version as well, as was reported by TOI in November last year.
The all-weather day and night capable Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) will eventually replace the expensive Russian, French and Israeli ones that are currently imported to arm IAF fighters.
In the test on Friday, the DRDO said all the subsystems, including the booster motor and nozzle-less motor, performed as expected and proved “many new technologies” like the SFDR.
“At present, such technology is available only with a handful of countries in the world. During the test, the air-launch scenario was simulated using a booster motor. Subsequently, the nozzle-less booster accelerated it to the required Mach number for Ramjet operation,” said an official.
“The missile’s performance was monitored using the data captured by electro-optical, radar and telemetry instruments. They confirmed the successful demonstration of the mission objectives,” he added.