India hails ‘historic’ hypersonic missile test flight

NEW DELHI: Nuclear-armed India has tested its first hypersonic missile, the defence minister said on Sunday, publicising the super-fast high-tech weapon days after rival China showcased its latest military aviation powers.

Hypersonics are the new frontier in missile technology, because they fly lower and are harder to detect than ballistic missiles, can reach targets more quickly, and can be ordered to change target in mid-flight.The US, Russia, China and North Korea have all tested hypersonic missiles, and several others are developing the technology.

“India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile,” Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said in a statement.

The test flight comes days after rival and neighbour China showcased its expanding aviation capabilities at an airshow, with the J-35A stealth fighter jet and attack drones displayed.

That, according to China´s state media, included the debut of the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles.

India´s missile blasted off from Abdul Kalam Island off the east coast on Saturday.

Video images released by India´s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), showed a slender missile blasting into the night sky followed by a surge of flames.