Hermeus’ Quarterhorse Mk 1 uncrewed flight test aircraft. (Photo: Hermeus)
Hermeus on May 27 said its Quarterhorse Mk 1 unmanned aircraft successfully flew for the first time, a key milestone on the startup’s path to developing high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft.
The May 21 flight and landing at Edwards AFB, Calif., came about five months later than the Atlanta-based company had hoped. The main goal of the company’s test campaign is to validate high-speed takeoff and landing.
The company said the successful test campaign and flight of the Mk 1 “validated design and performance models, including aerodynamics, stability and control. Testing also validated performance of vehicle subsystems including propulsion, fuel systems, hydraulics, power, thermal management, avionics, flight software, telemetry, flight termination, and command and control.”
The Mk 1 is powered by the GE Aerospace J85 engine. The Mk 2 will be powered by the RTX Pratt & Whitney F100-229 turbofan engines used on the Air Force’s F-15 and F-16 fighters. The F100 will feature a precooler to give the engine more speed, a feature of the startup’s future Chimera engine this is a hybrid of a turbojet for takeoff to get an aircraft to supersonic speeds, and a ramjet that will allow an aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds.
A successful flight is also seen as important to demonstrate the business perspective for investors and customers.
Design of the Mk 1 began in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Hermeus is reviewing data and lessons from the flight for integration into the Quarterhorse Mk 2, which is currently being manufactured and remains on track to fly late this year. The Chimera engine will be integrated on the Quarterhorse Mk 3, which the company hopes to fly in 2026.
Hermeus’ goal is to develop full-scale jet aircraft that can take-off and land on runways and achieve hypersonic speed in flight.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.