Hermeus Partners with Department of Defense to Explore Future of Reusable Hypersonic Aircraft
February 16, 2022
Hermeus is partnering with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) under a Phase II SBIR contract awarded to provide data and analysis of the various hypersonic aircraft it is developing.
These aircraft are designed for reusable flight at speeds of Mach 5 or greater – features that are of interest to the Department of Defense as it seeks to maintain the U.S. military’s technological advantage over strategic competitors.
The Hermeus study will include comprehensive reviews of the design, capabilities, and concepts of operations (CONOPS) for reusable hypersonic aircraft.
“As the Department of Defense aggressively pursues the development and fielding of transformational capabilities based on hypersonic systems, we are energizing the Nation’s small business innovation ecosystem and leveraging private sector investments to accelerate the development of critical technologies for reusable hypersonic aircraft, ” said Michael White, the DOD’s Principal Director for Hypersonics.
Hermeus will undertake this study after unveiling a full-scale prototype of its first Mach 5 aircraft, Quarterhorse and the signing of a $60 million U.S. Air Force partnership for the flight testing of Quarterhorse in 2021.
“We're excited to explore future military use cases for hypersonic aircraft,” said Dr. Michael Smayda, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Hermeus. “This technology is fundamentally dual-use, and we look forward to leveraging our commercially developed platforms to contribute to U.S. national security.”
ABOUT HERMEUS
Hermeus is a startup developing hypersonic aircraft to radically accelerate air travel. At Mach 5, more than twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde, passengers will be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes. On the path to hypersonic passenger aircraft, Hermeus is partnering with government agencies including the US Air Force and NASA to develop a series of autonomous aircraft that derisk the technology and solve urgent national security challenges. These products provide the data and confidence necessary to certify, produce, operate, and maintain safe and comfortable commercial aircraft. Hypersonic aircraft have the potential to create trillions of dollars of new global economic growth per year, unlocking significant resources that can be utilized to solve the world’s greatest problems.
Contact: info@hermeus.com