Successful test-firing of Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

Context:

DRDO successfully test-fired the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), making India the fourth country in the world.

What is HSTDV?

• The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flight.
• Hypersonic flight means a speed greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5).
• Apart from being used as a vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, the HSTDV is a dual-use technology that will have multiple civilian applications, including the launch of small satellites at a low cost.

What are Hypersonic nuclear missiles?

• Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds faster than 3,800 miles per hour or 6,115 km per hour, much faster than other ballistic and cruise missiles.
• They can deliver conventional or nuclear payloads within minutes.
• They are highly maneuverable and do not follow a predictable arc as they travel.
• They are said to combine the speed of ballistic missiles with the maneuvering capabilities of cruise missiles.
• The speed makes them hard to track compared to traditional missiles.

Different types of missiles

• Cruise and ballistic missiles
  • Cruise missiles: A cruise missile either locates its target or has a preset target.
    • It navigates using a guidance system — such as inertial or beyond visual range satellite GPS guidance — and comprises a payload and aircraft propulsion system.
    • Cruise missiles can be launched from land, sea, or air for land attacks and anti-shipping purposes, and can travel at subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic speeds.
    • Since they stay relatively close to the surface of the earth, they cannot be detected easily by anti-missile systems, and are designed to carry large payloads with high precision.
• Ballistic missiles: Ballistic missiles, meanwhile, are launched directly into the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere.
  • They travel outside the atmosphere, where the warhead detaches from the missile and falls towards a predetermined target.
  • They are rocket-propelled self-guided weapons systems that can carry conventional or nuclear munitions.
  • They can be launched from aircraft, ships and submarines, and land.
• ICBMs
  • Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are guided missiles that can deliver nuclear and other payloads.
  • ICBMs have a minimum range of 5,500 km, with maximum ranges varying from 7,000 to 16,000 km.
  • Only a handful of countries, including Russia, the United States, China, France, India, and North Korea, have ICBM capabilities.
•  Anti-satellite missiles
  • ASAT can incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes.
  • Other anti-satellite weapons include ground-based jammers to disrupt the signal from navigation and communications satellites.
  • The United States, Russia, and China are among countries pursuing anti-satellite weapons