In an effort to increase the lethality and range of air to air missiles to intercept targets at long range, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)on Friday successfully flight tested Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster. The test carried out at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha successfully demonstrated the reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system and met all the mission objectives, officials said here.
The SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds. The performance of the system has been confirmed from data captured by a number of range instruments like Telemetry, Radar and Electro Optical Tracking Systems deployed by ITR. The SFDR has been developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories such as Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO for the successful trial of SFDR. He termed it as an important milestone towards development of critical missile technologies in the country.
Complimenting the teams involved in design, development and testing, DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy said, with the successful trial of SFDR, the range of air-to-air missiles can be enhanced. The first test of the SFDR system was conducted in May, 2018 followed by second test in February, 2019 and third test in March last year.