Things are speeding up, and quick. High-speed aircraft company Hermeus announced on Tuesday that it’s completed the long-awaited flight test of its Quarterhorse Mk 1 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, marking a “significant step in Hermeus’ development of high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft,” according to the company.
Hermeus aims to use super-quick, iterative development and testing to eventually reach hypersonic flight. The first version of the jet was the Quarterhorse Mk 0, which was used for ground testing. Mk1 is the bare-bones, first-flight version, aimed primarily at demonstrating remote takeoff and landing.
Next up, the company will use data from the test to build out the Quarterhorse Mk 2 (already in development), which should be able to break the sound barrier and reach speeds below Mach 3.
Ramping up: In case you didn’t know, advanced aircraft typically take, like, a long time to build. The F-35, for example, took over two decades to put into full production (and was a full 10 years behind schedule). Hermeus says it’s trying to change that.
- The company aims to build an aircraft a year, ramping up to the Mk 3, which will be “the world’s fastest aircraft,” according to the company.
- The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the current record-holder, with recorded flights over Mach 3.2.
- Hermeus initially planned to fly Quarterhorse in 2023, but the company has faced delays. However, they say this has not significantly slowed down their road to hypersonic (speeds higher than Mach 5).
- Earlier this year, the company unveiled its own High Enthalpy Air-Breathing Test Facility (HEAT) in Florida, taking high-speed engine testing into its own hands. This should speed up the company’s development timeline.
The DoD has prioritized hypersonics as adversaries like Russia and China have ramped up their own capabilities. Hermeus was awarded a $1.5M contract by AFRL in 2020, and a further $60M in 2021. The company has also been tapped as part of DIU’s Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities program.
Blast off: In a video of the Mk 1 flight test, Hermeus’ super-shiny jet takes off and lands pretty smoothly on a traditional runway. That was the goal, they say. Additional flight details were pretty scant, but the company said that “data from the campaign has validated design and performance models, including aerodynamics, stability, and control.”
Now, all eyes are on the supersonic Mk 2, which the company says it plans to fly later this year. The Mk 3, the fourth iteration of the Quarterhorse, is set to roll off the line in early 2026.