Overview
- DRDL conducted the trial on January 9 at the Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility in Hyderabad, sustaining combustion for more than 12 minutes.
- The long-duration run verified the performance of the full-scale, actively cooled combustor and proved the SCPT facility for extended tests.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the achievement a solid foundation for India’s hypersonic cruise missile programme, with DRDO chairman Samir V. Kamat congratulating the teams.
- The milestone follows a 120-second combustor test in January 2025 and a subscale long-duration trial on April 25, 2025.
- DRDO framed the result as progress toward Mach 5-plus air-breathing systems developed with Indian industry partners, noting this was a ground test rather than a flight demonstration.