On December 19-20, 2020, Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh inaugurated India’s first advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility in Hyderabad, Telangana during his visit Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex.
- He was accompanied by Union Minister of State (MoS) Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and G Satheesh Reddy,DRDO Chairman.
- It is an enclosed free jet facility with pressure vacuum and having nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter which will simulate Mach No 5 to 12. Mach number is the ratio of an object’s speed in a given medium to the speed of sound in that medium.
- With this, India becomes the 3rd country to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability after the USA (United States of America) and Russia.
Key Points:
–The facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will aid in highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.
–Two anti-drone technologies by DRDO labs, DRDO Young Scientists’ Laboratory- Asymmetric Technologies (DYSL-AT) and drone and innovative anti-drone technologies by RCI (Research Centre Imarat) were also demonstrated.
Foundation Stone Laid of Explosive Test Facility
During the visit Gangapuram Kishan Reddy also laid the foundation stone of the Explosive Test Facility for Propellant and Explosive Systems at the missile complex. This facility will be used for design validation and evaluation of missile sub-systems under different environmental conditions.
Point to be noted:
Recently DRDO has completed various technological development linke Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM), Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Supersonic Missile Assisted Release Torpedo (SMART) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology during last six months.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 12, 2020 Rajnath Singh, Union Defence Minister virtually inaugurated 44 bridges, built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) across 7 States/UTs(Union Territories) in border areas. He also laid the Foundation Stone for 450 meters long, ‘Nechiphu Tunnel’, a bi-lane tunnel, on the road to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
ii.On September 11, 2020 Government of India constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Defence, Rajnath Singh to oversee the Corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
About Ministry of Defence (MoD):
Rajnath Singh Constituency– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
