Hermeus Readying Supersonic Quarterhorse for First Flight

Hermeus is prepping its next high-speed flight-test vehicle for flight, Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, shipping it to Spaceport America in New Mexico for upcoming trials, the company announced on Wednesday. Noting that Spaceport America is the “new home for the next chapter” and that “the journey to first flight starts now,” the Atlanta-based firm said it has fully deployed its team and established a hangar on location to support the next phase of the program.

Hermeus further outlined several next milestones before the uncrewed scaled supersonic vehicle becomes airborne. These include reintegration of the tail and wings, ground operations and system checks, engine ground runs, taxi tests, and then preparation for first flight.

“Each phase is designed to validate performance, operations, and readiness as we advance flight-ready capability in support of national security,” Hermeus said, adding that Quarterhorse is slated to become “the world’s first high-Mach uncrewed aircraft for national defense.”

Collaborating with the Department of Defense on high-speed capabilities and plans to eventually bring a commercial hypersonic aircraft to market, Hermeus has said Quarterhorse Mk 2 is designed to de-risk uncrewed supersonic flight and will enable both “high-cadence hypersonic flight test and novel operational defense capabilities.”

Flight of Mk 2 will follow the flight trials of the original Quarterhorse test vehicle, Mk 1, which took to the skies in May 2025. Hermeus has planned out 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 20-passenger Halcyon civil hypersonic aircraft.