Indo-Pacific news

India announced on September 7 that it has successfully tested its own locally-developed hypersonic technology, with the launch of a scramjet-powered Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from an island off Odisha on its east coast.

An Indian defence ministry statement said the solid-fuelled test vehicle reached an altitude of 30 km (98,400 feet). At altitude, it says the cruise vehicle separated from the launch vehicle and an air-breathing engine was engaged which took the air vehicle to a sustained top speed of around Mach 6 for 20 seconds.

The flight’s test parameters were monitored by ground stations an Indian ship in the Bay of Bengal, and the statement said the vehicle’s scramjet engine “performed in a textbook manner”.