Following the announcement by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on the successful flight test of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV);

Mathew George, Ph.D., Aerospace & Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“India’s leap into advanced missile technologies has been a long road, with many varied programs and partnerships along the way. This announcement represents the culmination of many years’ effort and is a significant advancement in the indigenous Indian weapons development.

“According to GlobalData’s recent thematic report, Hypersonic Technologies – Thematic Research, industry adoption of 3D printing will be instrumental in reducing production costs, this will be instrumental to help the technology to mature and become commercially viable.

“DRDO has been successful with their scramjet engine and all the associated technologies required to make hypersonic flight possible. The success of the HSTDV allows it to be used to develop the next generation hypersonic vehicles in partnership with industry. India’s domestic companies will need to step up to collaborate meaningfully with the DRDO to make these technologies affordable. There is added significance of this being a home-grown development, in-line with government push and larger global trends. We can also expect this to have an impact outside of weapons development towards wider defense programs and advanced manufacturing and India’s aim of becoming an aerospace hub in the future.”