Breaking the Sound Barrier: India’s Race for Hypersonic Supremacy

As great-power rivalry intensifies by the day, India’s foray into hypersonic missiles reflects its ambition to secure strategic autonomy in an era of fast-evolving military technology.

Today, we reached a stage when wars are capable of being fought in microseconds. In this scenario, speed is not just tactical but an existential aspect. Hypersonic missiles, capable of flying at over five times the speed of sound within the Earth’s atmosphere, have emerged as the latest disruptor in the global arms race. Their ability to evade existing air-defence systems by hugging the terrain, changing course mid-flight, and drastically reducing warning times has transformed them from laboratory curiosities into potent strategic assets. For an India grappling with a rapidly shifting security environment, mastering hypersonic technology is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Hypersonic weapons fall into two broad categories. Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) are initially boosted by rocket before re-entering the atmosphere, using aerodynamic lift to glide and manoeuvre toward their target at breakneck speeds. Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCMs), on the other hand, employ air-breathing scramjet engines, enabling sustained hypersonic flight after initial rocket acceleration. Both types can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads, blurring the distinction between tactical and strategic use.

Russia and China are the acknowledged leaders in this high-stakes contest. Russia has operationalised its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, reputedly deployed in active conflict zones. China boasts its DF-17 ballistic missile designed to carry glide vehicles, and has claimed to use hypersonic weapons in tandem with Pakistan during the post-Pahalgam skirmish with India — a boast accompanied by the conspicuous display of these missiles during its Victory Day Parade in 2025.

The United States, despite investing heavily in programs such as the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM), appears to lag in deployment compared to its rivals. Other nations like Australia, France, Germany, Japan, North Korea and Iran have been developing hypersonic technology but remain at various stages of research without full operational capability.

India’s entry into the hypersonic arena was prompted less by ambition than by necessity. Confronted by China’s growing military assertiveness and the shadow of Russian capabilities, New Delhi embarked on a hypersonic programme in the early 2000s. Early experiments culminated in the successful test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HTDV) in 2020, but translating a technology demonstrator into a functional weapon system required overcoming formidable challenges.

The critical difficulties lay in integrating multiple advanced technologies: precision inertial navigation, scramjet propulsion, endothermic fuel systems, thermal barrier coatings, and real-time guidance systems relying on IRNSS (India’s regional navigation system) and GPS. India’s robust ballistic missile programme provided an initial advantage in rocket booster development, but mastery over the glide phase, aerodynamic design, and long-duration scramjet propulsion demanded sustained investments in research and development.

In 2024, India conducted its first successful hypersonic missile test, a watershed moment demonstrating its resolve to close the technological gap. The Hypersonic Glide Missile (HGM) project is now in advanced developmental stages, with operational induction expected within the next few years. On the cruise missile front, India’s breakthrough in achieving over 1,000 seconds of scramjet-powered flight established a global benchmark for sustained hypersonic propulsion.

Strategic imperatives shape India’s hypersonic ambitions. The rapidly evolving mid-course missile defence systems of potential adversaries which are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes render conventional deterrence vulnerable. Hypersonic missiles, travelling at low altitudes with unpredictable flight paths, undercut these defences and complicate adversaries’ strategic calculus.

India’s Ministry of Defence has committed billions of dollars to a technological roadmap encompassing not only hypersonic weapons but also nuclear propulsion for naval vessels, stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), and directed-energy weapons. The immediate plan includes acquiring over 500 hypersonic missiles with scramjet propulsion over the next decade, accompanied by investments in counter-hypersonic systems.

Looking further ahead, ‘Project Vishnu,’ the codename for India’s next-generation hypersonic efforts, aims to develop systems capable of Mach 10 speeds. Such an achievement would not merely place India in an exclusive club of hypersonic powers but also bolster its strategic autonomy in a region increasingly defined by great-power rivalry.

For India, mastering hypersonic technology is about more than military capability. It is a statement of strategic intent. By joining the hypersonic arms race, New Delhi seeks to signal its unwillingness to remain a passive spectator to the rewriting of regional power equations. The stakes are clear: hypersonic weapons are not simply another class of missiles but represent the future of warfare itself, where reaction times shrink, and second-strike guarantees grow ever more fragile.

Yet, hypersonic weapons come with challenges of their own. High costs, technical complexity, and the difficulty of integrating these systems into existing command-and-control frameworks pose non-trivial hurdles. The risks of miscalculation, particularly in a crisis scenario where hypersonic missiles might be mistaken for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), further complicate matters.

Still, India appears undeterred. With its burgeoning defence-industrial base, growing technological expertise, and a strategic imperative to balance China and Pakistan’s growing capabilities, hypersonics have emerged as a natural focus. In an era where strategic advantage hinges on speed and surprise, India’s investment in this arena is as much about future-proofing its deterrent as about asserting its place in the new world order.

(The author is a retired Naval Aviation Officer and a defence and geopolitical analyst. Views personal)