DRDO's high-speed rocket-sled test puts India in elite club of nations

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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 Organization (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.

It further said "the canopy fragilisation pattern, ejection sequencing and complete aircrew recovery process was simulated using an instrumented anthropomorphic test dummy, which recorded critical loads, moments, and accelerations that would be experienced by ejected pilots".

The entire sequence was captured through onboard and ground-based imaging systems.

"Dynamic ejection tests are significantly more complex than static tests such as 'net test' or 'zero-zero test', and real measure for evaluating ejection seat performance and efficacy of canopy severance system," the ministry said.

Department of Defence R&D Secretary and DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat also congratulated the DRDO team associated with this successful demonstration.