New Delhi – India’s new surface-to-air missile is powered by Solid FuelDucted Ramjet (SFDR) technology, which was jointly developed by India andRussia. The defensive weapon achieved a speed of Mach 3 during its firsttest flight, sources in India’s Ministry of Defense told Sputnik. Themissile, which is viewed as the Indian version of the French Meteor, waslaunched from the Integrated Test Range facility off the coast of Odhisha.
“It was a booster phase test of the missile and the mission was a majormilestone for the strategic missile program. The nozzle, less booster, andSFDR was tested successfully,” a defense source told Sputnik.
[image: Anti-ship missile Brahmos]© PHOTO : WIKIPEDIA/ONE HALFThe DRDO will test other components of the missile such as its hightechnology seeker equipment very soon. The 250-kilogram SFDR missile hasbeen under development since 2013.
“The new technology will help both surface-to-air and air-to-air missilesperform better and enhance their strike range, making the weapons morelethal. Now India can have the fastest long-range missiles in the twocategories, providing full-fledged and multi-layered aerial protectionfrom hostile attacks,” an official told the New Indian Express.
The present lot of missiles, which use a booster/sustainer configurationwith solid or liquid propellants, have limitations against maneuveringtargets, since conventional missiles, at the terminal stage, can notprovide enough energy to maintain their speed in order to hit the targets.SFDR technology will exceptionally enhance endgame maneuverability at theterminal stage when the seeker is locked onto a target.