India has successfully tested a long-range hypersonic missile that travels over five times the speed of sound, boosting its military powers considerably.
The country’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the test late on Saturday off the coast of the state of Odisha, the Indian government said in a statement on Sunday. The missile is designed to carry payloads more than 1,500km (932 miles), it said.
Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, called the test a “major milestone” for India.
“This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies,” he added on X.
Hypersonic missiles are not only faster than any others — travelling at about a mile a second — but more agile. They can be manoeuvred mid-flight, unlike ballistic missiles that follow a set course or trajectory.
Military analysts said the weapons could be military “game changers” given their speed, along with the lower altitudes at which they travel, which makes them incredibly difficult to detect and intercept.
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India’s military researchers are working on at least three hypersonic technology projects, including the BrahMos-II hypersonic missile which has been jointly developed with Russia.
The DRDO is also working on a Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), an unmanned scramjet-powered aircraft for hypersonic flight that could be a carrier for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, as well as having civilian applications, such as launching small satellites at low cost.
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India first tested the hypersonic technology in 2019 but the flight trial failed. A second test in 2020 was successful in that the “cruise vehicle” flew for about 22 seconds at Mach 6 speed after separating from the launch vehicle.
Another project, codenamed HGV-202F, is envisioned as a hypersonic glide vehicle with an effective range of 5,500km and speeds up to Mach 20-21 with a 300kg payload.
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Hypersonic missiles have been developed by the US, China and Russia. In 2022 Russia became the first country in the world to use hypersonic missiles in combat by using them in its war in Ukraine.
The Russian Zircon missiles were among the weapons used to bombard Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure on Sunday, killing at least 21 people.
France, Germany, Australia, Japan and Israel are also pursuing the development of hypersonic missile systems, while North Korea claims to have test-fired them.
“It’s not a revolution but an evolution,” retired air-marshal VK Bhatia said of India’s test. “It’s been in the making for a while. It puts India in an exclusive club of a few nations with this capability. Its greatest advantage is that this missile is very difficult to intercept.”
Gundra Satheesh Reddy, a former chairman of the DRDO, said: “A missile of this range with hypersonic velocities will provide India with a decisive edge”.
However, he added it would take a few years for India to conduct more tests to finetune the missile before it is ready to be manufactured and deployed.
