India successfully test fires missile system SFDR booster

Balasore (Odisha)/New Delhi, April 8

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday successfully flight-tested a propulsion system that enables a missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds.

The Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster was tested at the integrated test range in Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

The successful trial of the SFDR is expected to help the DRDO in extending the range of air-to-air missiles, officials said.

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

The defence ministry said the flight testing of the SFDR was successful and it demonstrated the reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system.

“The test successfully demonstrated the reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system and met all the mission objectives,” it said in a statement.

It said the performance of the system has been confirmed from the data captured by a number of range instruments like telemetry, radar and electro-optical tracking systems.

“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,” the ministry said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO for the successful trial of SFDR.

He termed it an important milestone toward the development of critical missile technologies in the country.

Complimenting the teams involved in the design, development and testing of the system, DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy said, with the successful trial of SFDR, the range of air-to-air missiles can be enhanced.