India’s first Hypersonic Wind Tunnel test facility- Key Facts

Defence Minister inaugurated the country’s first advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad on December 20. After this inauguration, India has become the third country after the US and Russia to have an HWT test facility.

Key Facts

• HWT Test facility is a pressure vacuum-driven enclosed free jet facility. It has a 1 metre nozzle exit diameter and will simulate a Mach number of 5 to 12.
• Mach number represents the ratio of the speed of an object in a given medium to the speed of sound in the given medium.
• HWT test facility is also capable of simulating hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum. The test facility will play a key role in the development of very complex futuristic defence and aerospace systems.
• It has been indigenously developed by the partnership of various Indian industries.

DRDO

The Defence Research and Development Organisation is the research and development agency of the Defence Ministry. Its major aim is to empower India with latest defence technologies. The agency was formed in the year 1958.

The Defence Minister also visited the APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex of the DRDO.  The DRDO labs showcased various technologies like Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM), Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), Supersonic Missile Assisted Release Torpedo (SMART), Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology.

Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV)

HSTDV was recently tested by DRDO. It is scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flight. It is an unmanned vehicle. HSTDV has a speed that is six times that of the speed of sound and it can reach a height of 32.5kilometre in just 20 seconds.