DRDO conducts high-speed test of fighter aircraft escape system
New Delhi: The DRDO has successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft escape system at controlled velocity, validating some of the key safety parameters including complete aircrew recovery.
The test has placed India in “an elite club of nations” with advanced in-house escape system testing capability, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.
In a rocket-sled test, the system coupled with a rocket propulsion mechanism is run at a high speed on a pair of rails to simulate a moving aircraft in mid-air, a senior official said.
Defence minster Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, IAF, Aeronautical Development Agency, and HAL on the successful test. He described it as a significant milestone for India’s indigenous defence capability towards self-reliance.
“Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of fighter
aircraft escape system at precisely controlled velocity of 800 km/h- validating canopy severance, ejection sequencing and complete aircrew-recovery at Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh,” the defence minister’s office said in a post on X.
The complex dynamic test, conducted at a rail track rocket sled facility in Chandigarh, was conducted in collaboration with Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and it propelled India into “an elite club of nations” with advanced in-house escape system testing capability, the ministry said in a statement.
“A dual-sled system with the LCA aircraft forebody was propelled to precisely controlled velocity
through phased firing of multiple solid propellant rocket motors,” it said.
The test was witnessed by officials from the Indian Air Force (IAF), and the Institute of Aerospace Medicine.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has “conducted a successful high-speed rocket-sled test of fighter aircraft escape system at controlled velocity,” the ministry said.
“The test at rail track rocket sled facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research
Laboratory, Chandigarh, validated canopy severance, ejection sequencing and complete aircrew-recovery,” the ministry said.
