First Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Facility Inaugurated By Raksha Mantri
Dated : 21 Dec 2020 (IST)
Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Mantri on Saturday inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad at the Abdul Kalam Missile Complex of the DRDO. India has thus become the third country in the World to have such a facility.
The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility is “pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of 1 metre and will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 or in simple terms 5 to 12 times the speed of sound which is around 1100km per hour.
After USA and Russia, India is the third country to have developed such a large indigenous facility in terms of size and operating capability.
This has been possible because of synergistic partnership with Indian industries.
The facility has the capability to “simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realization of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.
He appreciated the contributions of DRDO Young Scientist Labs and said the DRDO needs to focus on next generation needs, including cyber security, space and artificial intelligence and evolve roadmaps.
“The immense potential available in DRDO has been a catalyst for the development of industries and defence manufacturing sector. The Raksha Mantri went on to exhort the DRDO scientists to make India a Super Military Power thereby making India a Super Power.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy accompanied the Raksha Mantri during the visit. The release said Lab Directors, Cluster DGs and Programme Directors briefed the dignitaries about the ongoing projects and developments.
Hyderabad-based DRDO labs showcased various indigenously developed systems and technologies in wide ranging areas including missiles, avionics systems, advanced materials, electronic warfare, quantum key distribution technology, directed energy weapons, Gallium Arsenide and Gallium Nitride technology capabilities. Two anti-drone technologies were demonstrated by DRDO labs.
The Raksha Mantri while addressing the DRDO fraternity, applauded the recent series of successful missions and technological achievements by various clusters of the organisation.
This included the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM), Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Supersonic Missile Assisted Release Torpedo (SMART) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology during the last six months,it said.
