Context: Recently, India successfully flight tested Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) Booster, a missile system, at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
About Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR)

• It is a missile propulsion technology jointly developed by India and Russia.
• It will help both India’s surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles to perform better and enhance their strike range, making them more lethal.
• With it, India can have fastest long-range missiles in two categories, providing full-fledged and multi-layered aerial protection from hostile attacks.
• Its successful use in missiles will mark India’s entry into select club of nations that use next-generation missile technology against manoeuvring targets, compromising effectiveness of conventional missiles.

Significance of the SFDR

• Such missile technology is currently available to only a handful of countries across the world.
• SFDR technology using air-to-air missiles has an increased range as oxidizers are not required by them. Instead, the missile system gets its oxygen from the atmosphere.

Difference between SFDR and Conventional Missiles

• SFDR propulsion technology is different from conventional solid fuelled or liquid fuelled missiles.
• At present lot of conventional missiles uses booster or sustainer configuration with solid or liquid propellants, which have limitations against manoeuvring target.
• This is because terminal stage of conventional missiles cannot provide enough energy to maintain their speed in order to hit targets. SDFR technology removes this drawback by exceptionally enhancing endgame manoeuvrability of missile at terminal stage when its seeker is locked onto target.