02 December,2025 09:29 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh said that the DRDO has successfully conducted the test. Pic/videograb (@DefenceMinIndia)
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter jet aircraft escape system at 800 km/h.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, the Indian Air Force, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the successful trial. He described it as a major milestone for India's indigenous defence development and its push towards self-reliance.
Sharing a video, Rajnath Singh said that the DRDO has successfully conducted the test.
He wrote, "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 minister's office said that the trial was conducted at a precisely controlled speed of 800 km/h at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh. The test confirmed the performance of the canopy-severance mechanism, the ejection sequence, and the recovery of the aircrew, reported the PTI.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the achievement places India among the "elite group of nations" with advanced in-house capability to test escape systems for military aircraft, as per the PTI.
In a rocket-sled test, the escape system is mounted on a rail track and propelled at very high speed using rocket motors, simulating the conditions of an aircraft in flight, a senior official explained.
The Defence Ministry said the complex dynamic test, carried out using a dual-sled system with the forebody of an LCA aircraft, was achieved through phased firing of several solid rocket motors. Officials from the Indian Air Force and the Institute of Aerospace Medicine were present during the trial, reported the PTI.
The ministry added that the trial used an instrumented anthropomorphic test dummy to simulate the loads, forces and accelerations experienced by a pilot during ejection. The entire sequence was recorded using onboard and ground-based cameras.
It further noted that dynamic ejection trials are far more challenging than static tests such as "net tests" or "zero-zero tests", and provide a true assessment of the ejection seat's performance and the effectiveness of the canopy-severance system.
Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman, also congratulated the team for the successful demonstration, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
