• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster, a missile system, at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the Odisha coast.

• The SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds.

• The test demonstrated reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system and met all the mission objectives. 

• The performance of the system has been confirmed from the data captured by a number of instruments like telemetry, radar and electro Optical tracking systems deployed by ITR.

• The SFDR has been 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. 

What is ramjet?

• Ramjet, Scramjet and Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ) are the three concepts of air-breathing engines which are being developed by various space agencies. 

• A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites. A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.

• Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.

• A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet. 

• A dual mode ramjet (DMRJ) is a type of jet engine where a ramjet transforms into a scramjet over Mach 4-8 range, which means it can efficiently operate both in subsonic and supersonic combustor modes.

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