Hermeus took its next step toward hypersonic flight with its first test vehicle, Quarterhorse Mk 1, taking to the skies. Quarterhorse Mk 1, the first flight-test vehicle in a series of uncrewed aircraft Hermeus is planning as it progresses toward a 20-seat hypersonic aircraft, flew last week at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The vehicle will be used to validate high-speed takeoff and landing gear of a large uncrewed aircraft, Hermeus said, noting that its unique configuration for high-speed flight can make basic takeoff and landing operations challenging.
According to Hermeus, the flight demonstrated a rapid development pace, going from a clean sheet to flight-ready in a little more than a year. “Mk 1 has redefined the pace of developing and flying new aircraft,” said Hermeus CEO and co-founder AJ Piplica. “We’ve proven the viability of our iterative development approach. But this is just the start. We have much more to do as the bar rises for the next iteration.”
Data from the flight campaign is also validating design and performance models, including aerodynamics, stability, and control, as well as subsystems such as propulsion, fuel systems, hydraulic power, thermal management, avionics, flight software, telemetry, flight termination, and command and control.
“The real-world flight data from Mk 1 provides significant technical value that we’re rolling into our next aircraft,” said co-founder and president Skyler Shuford.
Taking a “one aircraft per year” tack, Hermeus is reviewing data and integrating lessons learned into its next vehicle, Quarterhorse Mk 2, under development at the company’s headquarters in Atlanta. This aircraft will have the scale of an F-16 and will incorporate a high-Mach design to de-risk uncrewed supersonic flight. Hermeus expects it to fly later this year.
Ultimately, Hermeus is planning three Quarterhorse flight-test vehicles—along with an iron bird variant—before moving forward with its Darkhorse hypersonic multi-mission uncrewed aircraft, destined for military purposes, and then ultimately the Halcyon passenger vehicle.