It is being developed as a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, and will have multiple civilian applications including the launching of small satellites at low cost.

[1][2][3] India is pushing ahead with the development of ground and flight test hardware as part of an ambitious plan for a hypersonic cruise missile.

[4] The Defence Research and Development Laboratory's Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) is intended to attain autonomous scramjet flight for 20 seconds, using a solid rocket launch booster.

[2][5] Initial flight testing is aimed at validating the aerodynamics of the air vehicle, as well as its thermal properties and scramjet engine performance.

[1]Israel has provided some assistance on the HSTDV program, including wind tunnel testing, as has Cranfield University of the U.K. An unnamed third country is helping as well.

[11] In November 2010, DRDO officials told press that they were in the process of opening four state-of-the-art facilities inside as well as in the vicinity of Hyderabad at a cost of more than ₹10 billion (US$116 million) over the next five years.

[12] The advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility was finally commissioned at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex on 20 December 2020.

[13] The facility facilitate testing of various parameters of the Hypersonic Technology Development Vehicle (HSTDV), including engine performance.

It was test-fired from Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the Abdul Kalam Island in the Balasore district of Odisha at 11:27 IST.

[16][17] According to some unconfirmed reports, the test was a partial success since, allegedly, the Agni-I ballistic carrier vehicle on which the HSTDV was to receive its altitude boost didn't complete the mission.

According to the official statement by the Ministry of Defence, “the missile was successfully launched” and the data collected will be analysed to “validate critical technologies”.

"[20] This test flight validated aerodynamic configuration of vehicle, ignition and sustained combustion of scramjet engine at hypersonic flow, separation mechanisms and characterised thermo-structural materials.

The ceramic TBC, designed to withstand extreme temperatures encountered during hypersonic flight, has high thermal resistance & capable of operating beyond melting point of steel which is applied inside the engine using special deposition methods in order to enhance its performance and endurance.