DRDO conducts successful flight test of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet

Ministry of Defence

Key Highlights:

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully carried out a flight demonstration based on Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology.
Test conducted at Chandipur coast of Odisha on March 05, 2021.
All the subsystems, including the booster motor and nozzle-less motor, performed as expected.
During the test, many new technologies were proven, including Solid Fuel based Ducted Ramjet technology.
Successful demonstration of Solid Fuel based Ducted Ramjet technology has provided DRDO with a technological advantage which will enable it to develop long range air-to-air missiles.
At present, such technology is available only with a handful of countries in the world.
During the test, air launch scenario was simulated using a booster motor. Subsequently, the nozzle-less booster accelerated it to the required Mach number for Ramjet operation.
The performance of the missile was monitored using the data captured by Electro Optical, Radar and Telemetry instruments deployed by ITR and confirmed successful demonstration of the mission objectives.
The launch was monitored by senior scientists of various DRDO labs, including Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory(HEMRL).

What is ramjet technology?

A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a flying stovepipe or an athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct)
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.

What is Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet?

The Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet is a missile propulsion system that includes a thrust modulated ducted rocket with a reduced smoke nozzle-less missile booster.
The thrust modulation in the system is achieved using a hot gas flow controller.
The system utilises a solid fuelled air-breathing ramjet engine.
As of 2017, the missile system has a range of about 120 kilometres at an altitude of 8 kilometres, with a speed of 2.3-2.5 Mach.
As per International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), this kind of propulsion system drastically enhances the range with higher average speed.
The missiles which use such system are also able to carry larger payload due to absence of an oxidizer. Unlike solid-propellant rocket, the Ramjet takes up oxygen from the atmosphere during flight.
Officially, the technology is being developed to power future Indian air-to-air missiles.
However, the technology can also be applied to surface-to-air missiles.
In its current form, the SFDR-based missile first requires to be boosted into a high-altitude trajectory to simulate aircraft-launch conditions.
Subsequently, the nozzle-less booster fires up and guides the missile through its desired trajectory.