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15 Apr 2022 Solid fuel ducted ramjet

Posted at 16:03h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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Recently India has successfully test-fired a missile system- ‘Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet’ (SFDR) booster at ‘Integrated Test Range’ (ITR) at Chandipur off Odisha coast.
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) first started developing SFDR in the year 2017 and conducted successful trials in the year 2018 and also in the year 2019.

It is a missile propulsion technology jointly developed by India and Russia.
SFDR technology is a missile propulsion system, which is based on the concept of ‘ramjet engine’ principle.
A ramjet engine is a variant of the air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress the incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor.
In ramjets high pressure is generated by using the forward motion of the vehicle. The outside air introduced into the propulsion system becomes the working fluid.
Ramjet works only when the vehicle is already moving; The ramjet cannot function when the engine is stationary.
The system uses a solid fueled ramjet engine.
Unlike solid propellant rockets, ramjets take oxygen from the atmosphere during flight. Thus it is lighter in weight and can carry more fuel.
SFDA has been developed by Defense Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories such as Research Center Imarat, Hyderabad and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.

It protects the missile from air threats over very long distances at supersonic speed.
At present such technology is available with only a few countries in the world.
Air-to-air missiles that use SFDR technology are capable of long range strikes as they do not require oxidizers, that is, oxygen from the atmosphere. The Hindu Analysis
The missile based on SFDR takes off at supersonic speed and ensures high maneuverability so that the target aircraft does not take off from the missile.

Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defense, Government of India.
It works with a vision to empower India to achieve a state of self-reliance in cutting edge and critical defense technologies and systems. The Hindu Analysis
DRDO was established in the year 1958 by combining the Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army with the Defense Science Organization (DSO) and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP).
It has an important role in developing the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).