DRDO’s Dhvani Hypersonic Glide Vehicle to Breach China’s Entire BMD Shield at Mach 21 Speed

In a major leap for India’s strategic deterrence capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has officially confirmed the development of a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV)-based missile system named Project Dhvani. Designed to travel at speeds exceeding Mach 21 (~25,000 km/h), this next-generation system is being built for long-range, high-speed strategic missions capable of defeating even the most advanced missile defense systems in the world.

Once operational, Dhvani will place India in the elite league of nations mastering wave-riding HGVs, a space currently dominated by Russia’s Avangard and China’s DF-17. However, sources suggest that India’s Dhvani glider is significantly larger and heavier than the Chinese DF-17—a clear indicator of its intended deep-penetration and heavy payload capabilities.

The Dhvani HGV Capability

Project Dhvani isn’t just a high-speed missile—it is a highly maneuverable, atmospheric-gliding platform that launches atop a ballistic missile booster before detaching and skimming through the upper atmosphere at hypersonic velocities.

Key Features and Capabilities:

• Top Speed: Mach 21+ (~25,200 km/h), making interception extremely difficult.

• Range: Estimated to exceed 5,500 km, placing it well into the intermediate-range strategic weapon category.

• Design: Blended Wing Body (BWB) architecture similar to Russia’s Avangard, optimized for sustained wave-riding using atmospheric pressure.

• Maneuverability: Extreme lateral movement and unpredictable flight paths to evade detection and interception.

Unlike conventional ballistic missiles that follow predictable parabolic trajectories, HGVs like Dhvani can perform continuous evasive maneuvers during re-entry, making them immune to most modern Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems.

Penetrating the Dragon’s Shield: BMD Evasion

China has deployed an extensive multi-layered missile defense network, including:

• HQ-19: For high-altitude interception.

• HQ-26: Designed for long-range BMD, including boost-phase and mid-course kills.

• DN-3 and DN-4: Mid-course space interceptors with exo-atmospheric kill vehicles.

However, Dhvani is designed to bypass or neutralize each of these layers:

• Hypersonic maneuvering prevents tracking locks by mid-course BMD systems.

• Low atmospheric flight allows the glide vehicle to fly beneath the radar horizon of ground-based interceptors.

• Unpredictable terminal path reduces the effectiveness of kill vehicle interception algorithms.

As a result, Dhvani can slip through layered BMDs like a phantom, arriving at its target before the enemy even realizes it has been hit. This capability mirrors the surprise effectiveness of Indian air-launched weapons used in past strikes on Pakistani military assets—operations that left adversaries scrambling for explanations after the fact.

Massive Payload and Strategic Implications

The large physical dimensions of Dhvani’s glide body suggest it will carry either a heavy conventional warhead or a thermonuclear payload—possibly even Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) or maneuvering reentry vehicles (MaRVs) in future iterations.

With such capabilities, Dhvani could:

• Strike deep targets across continental Asia, including critical infrastructure in China.

• Serve as a second-strike weapon in a nuclear conflict, surviving first-wave attacks and retaliating through BMD layers.

• Be launched from road-mobile or canisterized platforms, increasing survivability and reducing launch detection timelines.

A Vision of Strategic Supremacy

Project Dhvani isn’t just a technological milestone—it’s a message. India is evolving from a regional deterrent power to a strategically autonomous player capable of shaping the high-speed battlefield of tomorrow.

By mastering hypersonic glide technology, DRDO has given India an asymmetric edge—something even the most sophisticated defense systems of its adversaries will find nearly impossible to counter.

While operational timelines are yet to be formally announced, the scale, ambition, and confirmed development of Dhvani signal that India’s hypersonic age has officially begun—with chilling implications for anyone on the receiving end.