Hermeus’ latest test flight marks a giant leap towards hypersonic travel. On May 21, 2025, their Quarterhorse Mk 1, a shiny uncrewed aircraft, took flight over Edwards Air Force Base, signaling their bold push toward technologies that could slash a New York-to-London trip to just 90 minutes.
Back in the saddle. Time to fly. pic.twitter.com/YTkwGTKhi3
— Hermeus (@hermeuscorp) May 21, 2025
The Quarterhorse Mk 1, roughly F-16-sized and powered by a General Electric J85 engine, isn’t hitting Mach 5 yet, but nailing takeoff and landing with its speed-hungry design—low aspect ratio wings, high wing loading, low thrust-to-weight ratio—is no small feat. “Mk 1 has redefined the pace of developing and flying new aircraft,” said AJ Piplica, Hermeus’ CEO and co-founder. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished. We’ve proven the viability of our iterative development approach. But this is just the start.”
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What’s incredible is Hermeus’ scramble—designing and building this jet in just 204 days, a timeline that laughs in the face of the aerospace industry’s usual decade-long slogs. Their “hardware richness” vibe is all about cranking out prototypes, testing them to the limit, and feeding the data into the next one, with Quarterhorse Mk 2 already in the works for a late 2025 flight. “The real-world flight data from Mk 1 provides significant technical value that we’re rolling into our next aircraft,” said Skyler Shuford, Hermeus’ president and co-founder.
At Edwards Air Force Base’s storied dry lakebed, a historic testing ground for icons like the X-15, the Mk 1’s propulsion, fuel system, hydraulics, and bespoke Flight Deck remote piloting setup passed with flying colors, building on December 2024 ground tests that hit 130 knots with full afterburner. Major General Scott Cain, Air Force Test Center commander, nailed it: “Industry partnerships continue to have an important role in the development and test of disruptive and innovative capabilities for our warfighters.”
Hermeus isn’t just chasing speed for kicks—their roadmap’s a beast, with Mk 2 gunning for supersonic with a Pratt & Whitney F100, Mk 3 aiming to smash Mach 5 in 2026 with their Chimera turbojet-ramjet, and future projects like Darkhorse for defense and Halcyon for civilian travel that could make transatlantic hops a breeze. Backed by the Air Force, NASA, and heavyweights like Sam Altman, Hermeus is moving at warp speed. “We’ve accomplished this milestone on a challenging timeline while operating within the overall aerospace ecosystem,” Shuford said, doubling down on their mission to revive rapid jet development.
When Mk 1 touched down, it didn’t just stick the landing—it kicked open the door to hypersonic reality. With Mk 2 shaping up and a new Jacksonville test site prepping for 2026, Hermeus is all gas, no brakes, proving the future of flight is closer than you think.
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