Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) is a
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...
propulsion system
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
currently being developed by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) ( IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...
of India. The project aims to develop critical technologies required in the propulsion systems of future Indian
long range air-to-air missile
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back)
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying ...
s.
Description
The Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet is a missile
propulsion system
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
that includes a thrust modulated
ducted rocket with a reduced smoke
nozzle
A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe.
A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, ...
-less missile
booster
Booster may refer to:
Amusement rides
* Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride
* Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride
* Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Booster, a cha ...
.
The thrust modulation in the system is achieved using a hot gas flow controller.
The system utilises a
solid fuelled air-breathing
ramjet
A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an a ...
engine.
It is an extremely long-range missile with a projected range of 350 km. As per
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think ...
(IISS), this kind of propulsion system drastically enhances the range with higher average speed. The missiles which use such system are also able to carry larger payload due to absence of an
oxidiser
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...
. Unlike
solid-propellant rocket
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/ oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persi ...
, the Ramjet takes up oxygen from the atmosphere during flight.
Officially, the technology is being developed to power future Indian air-to-air missiles.
However, the technology can also be applied to
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s.
In its current form, the SFDR-based missile first requires to be boosted into a high-altitude trajectory to simulate aircraft-launch conditions. Subsequently, the nozzle-less booster fires up and guides the missile through its desired trajectory.
Development
The development of the SFDR started in 2013 and envisaged a five-year deadline to begin actual demonstrations.
The missile is being developed primarily by the
Defence Research and Development Laboratory
Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) is an Indian missile development laboratory, part of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Their charter is centered on the design, development, and flight evaluation of var ...
(DRDL) and
Research Centre Imarat
Research Centre Imarat (RCI) is a DRDO laboratory located in Hyderabad, Telangana. The lab is responsible for Research and Development of Missile Systems, Guided Weapons and advanced Avionics for Indian Armed Forces
The Indian Armed Forces ...
(RCI) in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
.
(HEMRL) developed the nozzle-less booster while the ramjet engine is being developed with Russian assistance.
Ground-based testing of the missile started in 2017.
Testing
* SFDR was tested for the first time on 30 May 2018. This test demonstrated a nozzle-less booster for the first time in India.
''
The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language b ...
'' reported that the missile had failed to activate the second
ramjet
A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an a ...
engine stage during the test.
*The second test of the missile occurred on 8 February 2019, where its ramjet engine was successfully tested. The missile finally touched the ground after achieving the desired
Mach number
Mach number (M or Ma) (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Moravian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
: \mathrm = \ ...
.
* DRDO conducts successful flight test of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet Technology in
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...
's
Chandipur on 5 March 2021. "''All subsystems, including the ground booster motor, performed as per our expectations''", DRDO officials said.
* Another successful test was carried out on 8 April 2022 .The test demonstrated reliable functioning of all critical components involved in the complex missile system and met all the mission objectives.
See also
*
Astra (missile)
Astra (Sanskrit: "weapon") is an Indian family of all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The missile is capable of engaging targets at varying ranges from a distance ...
*
K-100 (missile)
References
External links
{{commons category, DRDO Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet
Defence Research and Development Organisation
Air-to-air missiles of India
Guided missiles of India