DRDO conducted maiden test of an indigenously developed HSTDV from launch pad number-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha Coast.

• It is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft. It is designed to cruise at Mach 6 speed with scramjet engine.
• It can be used for launching satellites at low cost and can also be available for long-range cruise missiles of future.
• In scram-jet technology, fuel combustion takes place in a chamber in missile at supersonic speeds while in a ram jet system, the system collects air it needs from atmosphere during flight at subsonic speeds and propellants burn in combustion chamber.