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DRDO conducts Scramjet Engine Ground Test

Context: DRDO has successfully conducted the 1st Active Cooled Scramjet Combustor Ground Test in India, running for 120 seconds.

What is a Scramjet Engine?

A Supersonic Combustion Ramjet engine is an air-breathing propulsion system designed for hypersonic speeds.

How It Works

  • Air Compression: Incoming air is compressed due to the vehicle’s high speed (no turbines or compressors).
  • Fuel Injection: Endothermic fuel is injected into the compressed air.
  • Supersonic Combustion: Combustion occurs at supersonic speeds, producing thrust.

Advantages

  • High Efficiency: Utilizes atmospheric oxygen, reducing the need to carry oxidizers.
  • Reduced Complexity: No moving parts.
  • Capability: Enables speeds greater than Mach 5.

Applications

  • Hypersonic missiles,
  • Spaceplanes and
  • Reusable launch vehicles.

Scramjet Engine1

About Hypersonic Missiles

  • Hypersonic missiles are advanced weapon systems capable of travelling at speeds exceeding Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound, approximately 6,125 km/h).

Key Characteristics

  • Speed: Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of Mach 5 or higher, enabling them to cover vast distances in a fraction of the time compared to traditional missiles.
  • Manoeuvrability: Unlike ballistic missiles, which follow a predictable arc, hypersonic missiles can manoeuvre during flight, making them challenging to detect and intercept.
  • Trajectory: They fly within the atmosphere (at altitudes of 20-100 km), avoiding traditional ballistic arcs and complicating radar tracking.

Types of Hypersonic Missiles

  • Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs): HGVs are launched by rockets and glide to their targets at hypersonic speeds.
  • Hypersonic Cruise Missiles: They are powered by scramjet engines, maintaining sustained hypersonic speeds throughout their flight.

Fact

Mach Number: The ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the same medium is called the Mach number.

  • Mach  > 1: Subsonic
  • Mach ≈ 1: Transonic
  • Mach 1 -5: Supersonic
  • Mach <6: Hypersonic

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