New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for successfully demonstrating the hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) on Monday morning from the APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha.

Modi tweeted, "Congratulations to DRDO for successful flight of the Hypersonic Test Demonstration Vehicle today. The scramjet engine developed by our scientists helped the flight achieve a speed 6 times the speed of sound! Very few countries have such capability today."

It will pave the way towards the development of missiles travelling at six times the speed of sound. With this successful demonstration, the country entered an elite club of the hypersonic regime. India became the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to get this technology.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also appreciated the DRDO for achieving this milestone.