1. Home
2. Defence

Know significance of India's HWT facility

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/18/2021 11:59:25 AM

New Delhi, Jan 17 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test during his visit to Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad. India has become the third country after Russia and US to have such a facility. It is the state-of-the-art Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Test facility which is a pressure vacuum-driven enclosed free jet facility having a nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter. India is the third country after the USA and Russia to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability. It is an indigenous development built in partnership with Indian industries. As per the press release by Defence Services, the facility is provided with the capability to "simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realization of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.” This indigenously-developed facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic airflow and will prove crucial in India's quest to develop futuristic aerospace and defence technologies. It is a great effort on part of DRDO thus giving a boost to Make in India. Wind Tunnels are large tubes with air passing at high speed through them. These tunnels direct air around an object which makes it reach the flying stage. The Hypersonic flow is when the speeds are much higher than the speed of the sound that is 330 m/s. It can be achieved at Mach 5 or greater. The Hypersonic test facility includes shock layer, viscous interaction layer, entropy layer and stagnation temperature of the flow. It may not be a weapon, but the successful test of Hypersonic Wind Flow Tunnel is a significant milestone in the nation's quest to develop hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles.