The Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle flown by DRDO in September 2020 was powered by which kind of engine?
- A.Turbofan
- B.Ramjet
- C.Scramjet
- D.Solid rocket motor only
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, a scramjet. In a scramjet, short for supersonic combustion ramjet, the air taken in from the atmosphere stays supersonic while the fuel is burnt in it, which is what allows sustained flight at hypersonic speed. The HSTDV was lifted by a rocket booster and then flew on its own scramjet for some seconds, proving the intake, the combustion and the materials that must survive the heat.
Option A, a turbofan, is an engine with fans and compressors used by airliners and by the subsonic Nirbhay, and it cannot work at such speeds. Option B, a ramjet, slows the incoming air to subsonic speed before burning it, which limits it to the lower supersonic range; BrahMos uses a ramjet. Option D is wrong because a plain rocket motor carries its own oxidiser and was used only as the booster here.
Read the full article: DRDO and Defence Technology: Missiles and Labs
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following missiles is a canister launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed by DRDO?
- A.Astra
- B.Akash
- C.Shaurya
- D.Trishul
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Shaurya is the land based version of the submarine launched K-15 Sagarika, and it is stored and fired from a sealed canister, which lets it be moved by road and launched at short notice.
Read the full explanation →The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, approved in 1983, was led by
- A.Homi Jehangir Bhabha
- B.Vikram Sarabhai
- C.A P J Abdul Kalam
- D.Satish Dhawan
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The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was approved in 1983 and Kalam, then at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, was made its head.
Read the full explanation →Which missile developed under the IGMDP is an anti-tank guided missile?
- A.Nag
- B.Trishul
- C.Prithvi
- D.Akash
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Nag is a third generation anti-tank guided missile of the fire and forget kind, which means that once the seeker has locked on to the target the operator need not keep guiding it, and the crew can move away at once.
Read the full explanation →The name of the BrahMos missile is derived from the names of which two rivers?
- A.Brahmaputra and Moskva
- B.Brahmaputra and Volga
- C.Beas and Moskva
- D.Brahmani and Moskva
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BrahMos is built by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture formed in 1998 between DRDO and the Russian firm NPO Mashinostroyeniya, and the name joins a great river of each country.
Read the full explanation →In which year was the Defence Research and Development Organisation formed?
- A.1947
- B.1958
- C.1969
- D.1983
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DRDO was formed in that year by bringing together the Technical Development Establishment of the Indian Army, the Directorate of Technical Development and Production and the Defence Science Organisation, so that defence research would be done under one roof.
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