India Achieves Major Hypersonic Missile Breakthrough with DRDL Scramjet Test

• DRDL, a unit of DRDO, successfully conducted a long-duration ground test of its full-scale, actively cooled scramjet combustor.
• The test, held on January 9, 2026, at the SCPT Facility, achieved a run time of over 12 minutes, a significant milestone.
• This builds on an earlier subscale test from April 25, 2025, advancing India's hypersonic missile development.
• The Ministry of Defence highlighted that the test validates the scramjet combustor design and test infrastructure, positioning India at the forefront of advanced aerospace capabilities.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded the achievement as a solid foundation for India's Hypersonic Cruise Missile Development Programme.

Why It Matters: India makes significant progress in hypersonic missile technology with DRDL's successful scramjet engine test.