India’s Project Dhvani: DRDO’s Hypersonic Glide Vehicle to Rival DF-17, Avangard Set for 2029 Induction

India’s defense research agency, DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), is quietly but decisively progressing on one of its most advanced missile programs yet: Project Dhvani, a next-generation Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) aimed at reshaping India’s strategic deterrence and long-range strike capabilities. This HGV, projected for induction by 2029–2030, is being developed as part of India’s expanding hypersonic weapons portfolio, positioning the country alongside the US, China, and Russia in this elite technology domain.

Project Dhvani: Overview and Strategic Significance

At the heart of Project Dhvani is a blended wing-body design, resembling a seamless, aerodynamic structure that merges the fuselage and wings into a single, wedge-like body optimized for extreme speeds, low drag, and radar evasion. According to sources from idrw.org, the vehicle’s size is about 7 meters longer than China’s DF-17, a prominent medium-range HGV, indicating a likely intercontinental capability.

DRDO is reportedly aiming for ICBM-class range, potentially exceeding 5,500 km or more, although official numbers remain classified. This would place Dhvani in the same category as Russia’s Avangard and China’s DF-ZF, both of which are nuclear-capable and known for their maneuverability at hypersonic speeds (Mach 5+).

Structural and Material Advancements

One of Dhvani’s most critical components is its heat protection system (HPS), capable of enduring temperatures of 2,000–3,000°C encountered during hypersonic flight and atmospheric reentry. This is achieved through ultra-high-temperature ceramic composite materials, which offer superior thermal resistance, structural integrity, and longevity even under extreme aerodynamic heating.

The blended body shape also offers a reduced radar cross-section (RCS), contributing to stealth. Its internal guidance systems, likely based on inertial navigation coupled with satellite-assisted correction, will enable high precision, even during complex evasive maneuvers.

DRDO’s Four Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Programs

Project Dhvani is just one part of a broader HGV initiative by DRDO, comprising four distinct HGV configurations, each with unique design goals:

1. Project Dhvani – Blended body design: Optimized for intercontinental reach and stealth. Primary nuclear deterrent role.

2. LR-AShM – Delta wing body: Hypersonic Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, likely for naval strike missions with extreme kinetic energy.

3. BM-04 – Conical body design: Possibly a more straightforward reentry-type HGV suitable for ballistic missile integration.

4. Winged HGV (unnamed) – Currently under wraps, this vehicle may resemble NASA’s X-43 or the US Air Force’s HTV-2 in design, promising maneuverability and reusable test platforms.

Potential Capabilities and Role

• Speed: Estimated to cruise at Mach 6–8, depending on trajectory and altitude.

• Range: Possibly 7,000–10,000 km, falling into the ICBM or even global strike category.

• Payload: Nuclear-capable; likely to carry 1–2 MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles).

• Launch Platform: Compatible with future solid-fueled ICBMs or heavy-lift rockets such as Agni-V Prime or even K-series SLBMs for underwater launch.

Its maneuverability in the terminal phase and ability to glide across continents before delivering a high-speed strike makes Dhvani a highly survivable and unpredictable platform — a serious challenge to current and future missile defense systems like THAAD, Patriot, or even Russia’s S-500.

India’s Road to Hypersonic Mastery

DRDO’s hypersonic journey began with the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which achieved Mach 6+ flight in multiple tests between 2020–2022. That testbed laid the groundwork for material science, guidance systems, scramjet engines, and thermal shielding — all of which have directly contributed to Dhvani’s ongoing development.

Unlike the HSTDV, which was scramjet-powered and intended for cruise missile roles, Project Dhvani is a glide vehicle, carried aloft by a ballistic missile, detaching at high altitude and gliding through the upper atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, evading enemy radar and interceptors.

By 2030, DRDO envisions Dhvani becoming a core component of India’s strategic triad, enabling rapid retaliatory strikes from land or sea against any adversary. With both nuclear and conventional warhead compatibility, it will offer India not just a deterrent but a counterforce strike capability, disrupting enemy command-and-control assets, hardened silos, or even mobile platforms.

As China pushes the envelope with DF-ZF and the US accelerates its Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), India’s entry with Dhvani marks a strategic leap into the hypersonic arms race — one that could redefine the military balance in Asia and beyond.

Project Dhvani is more than a missile; it is India’s answer to the next era of strategic warfare.