In a big boost to indigenous development of long-range air-to-air missiles, India has successfully conducted the flight trial of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster tech.
The test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on 8 April.
According to the DRDO, the test successfully demonstrated the reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system and met all the mission objectives.
The SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds. The development of the SFDR tech will enable India to make its own long-range air-to-air missile.
The performance of the SFDR system was confirmed from the data captured by a number of range instruments like Telemetry, Radar and Electro Optical Tracking Systems deployed by ITR.
The SFDR was developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories such as Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.
