India’s actively cooled scramjet full-scale combustor engine is driving technologies and systems for the country’s hypersonic missile programmes. (DRDO)
India has extended the run-time of an actively cooled full-scale scramjet combustor that is under development for the country’s hypersonic weapons programme, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi has said.
According to the MoD, the combustor achieved a run-time of more than 1,200 seconds in a trial conducted on 9 May. This run-time exceeds the combustor’s previous top ignition time of more than 700 seconds, which was achieved in January 2026, the MoD said.
The test was conducted at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility in Hyderabad. The ground tests have validated the design of the combustor as well as the capabilities of the test facility, the MoD said.
The scramjet was designed and developed by DRDO’s Hyderabad-based subsidiary, the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).
DRDL tested a subscale demonstrator of the scramjet combustor in January 2025. During this maiden test, DRDL operated the subscale combustor continuously for 120 seconds. A follow-up test in April 2025 saw the sub-scale combustor ignited for more than 1,000 seconds. The January 2026 test constituted the first ignition trial of the full-scale combustor.
The combustor employs indigenously developed liquid hydrocarbon endothermic fuel and is equipped with a high temperature thermal barrier coating (TBC), according to the MoD. Janes has previously reported that the combustor’s TBC is designed to withstand extreme temperatures beyond the melting point of steel.
This article includes information from Janes research analyst Niranjan B S.
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India tests full-scale scramjet engine
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