New Delhi: India has soared into the elite league of nations with the successful test of its scramjet engine, a feat that has sent ripples across the global defense community. Capable of hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 5, this engine promises a revolution for missile technology because it operates without a single moving part.
In contrast, fighter jet engines rely on intricate turbine mechanisms and thousands of moving components, showing they are far more complex to produce. While India has mastered the scramjet, developing the high-temperature alloys and precision engineering needed for jet engines is a work in progress.
In the high skies above, a silent roar has echoed today and woken the attention of the world’s most powerful nations. Imagine a machine without spinning fans or turbines, but fast enough to cover the distance between Delhi and Karachi in the blink of an eye. India’s scramjet engine successfully sustained powered flight for 12 minutes, proving that what was once considered impossible is now a reality.
This is more than an engine. It is a symbol of India’s self-reliance and a technological statement that can blind enemy radars and render missile defense systems powerless.
Even as the country celebrates this breakthrough, many are asking if India can build an engine that flies at five times the speed of sound, why is it still struggling to make a reliable fighter jet engine like Kaveri for aircraft such as Tejas?
The answer lies in the fundamental differences between scramjets and fighter jet engines. A scramjet uses the sheer speed of airflow to compress incoming air, has no moving parts and is designed exclusively for hypersonic flight. Jet engines, like turbofans and turbojets, rely on thousands of blades and turbines spinning at mind-boggling speeds, creating immense mechanical and thermal stress.
Fighter jets operate across subsonic and supersonic regimes, requiring engines that can start from zero, withstand extreme temperatures and run reliably for thousands of hours while being repeatedly throttled up and down across altitudes.
India’s scramjet has no fans, no turbines and functions only for a brief duration before being destroyed after its mission, typically lasting just minutes. Fighter jet engines, however, must endure extreme heat beyond their melting points. Their turbine blades require micro-holes and specialised coatings to stay cool.
These “single-crystal superalloys”, critical to engine performance, are mastered by only a handful of countries worldwide. Achieving durability, reliability and repeated operational flexibility is the toughest part, and it is where India continues to make progress.
Answering pressing questions about engine technology, experts explain that scramjets cannot launch aircraft from zero speed. They must already be flying at very high speeds, around Mach 4 to 5, which is why they are used only in missiles or special hybrid vehicles.
Despite years of effort, the Kaveri jet engine has yet to generate sufficient thrust for fighter jets, though its dry variant will now power India’s Ghatak UCAV drones. Fully indigenous and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the scramjet’s success has placed India firmly in the hypersonic club, enabling missile capabilities that can bypass any existing global defense shield.
To address the fighter jet challenge, India is now collaborating with General Electric on the F-414 engine, working toward complete technology transfer that could finally realise the dream of a fully domestic jet engine. In scramjets, India leads the world; in fighter jets, the journey continues.
But today, with the successful 12-minute scramjet test, India has made history, sending a clear message that its technological ambitions are no longer grounded. They are supersonic, hypersonic and unstoppable.