India has made no secret of its hypersonic ambitions whether aimed at high-speed weapons, sub-orbital passenger transport or as a stepping stone to space. Now, key tests are set to begin for a technology demonstrator that could unlock some of these possibilities.

NEW DELHI – India has delayed plans to loft Nirbhay, its first subsonic cruise missile, until early 2013. Nirbhay’s launch was to take place in November from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast in eastern India. “It will now be done in January 2013,” a senior scientist at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) says. He blamed the holdup on launcher modifications.

New Delhi – India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has opened an electronics facility in the southern state of Kerala to produce advanced avionics for aircraft and helicopters. The $12 million factory is located in the Kasaragod district and will make airborne special purpose systems such as mission computers, display processors, and radar computers for Sukhoi Su-30s , MiG-27s and Light Combat Aircraft.