DRDO conducts successful ground test of full scale actively cooled long duration Scramjet Engine for Hypersonic Missile Programme

• Scramjet = Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, an air-breathing engine with no moving parts that sustains combustion in a supersonic airflow, enabling hypersonic flight (Mach 5+).
• DRDO's Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad ground-tested a full-scale Actively Cooled Scramjet Combustor for over 12 minutes (≈720 s) on 09 January 2026, and again for >1,200 s (~20 min) on 09 May 2026.
• Foundational for India's Hypersonic Cruise Missile Development Programme, placing India among a tiny club (US, Russia, China) with credible scramjet propulsion capability.