India, Sept. 13 -- New Delhi: India has joined the elite club of countries having the ability to develop hypersonic missiles which can travel several times faster than the speed of sound. So far, only US, Russia and China had this ability.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated the hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) recently from the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. With this, the country has entered into the hypersonic regime paving way for advanced hypersonic vehicles.

The hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using a proven solid rocket motor, which took it to ...