Hermeus Aerospace successfully flew Quarterhorse 2.1 for the first time from Spaceport America in March 2026, marking the company's second first-flight milestone in under a year. The F-16-sized UAV prototype uses a modified F100 turbofan as part of Hermeus' Chimera turboramjet engine, which combines a pre-chiller and ramjet bypass stage to enable hypersonic speeds. The goal is for the next iteration, v2.2, to break the SR-71 Blackbird's 50-year-old air-breathing speed record of Mach 3.3 and potentially reach Mach 5. Quarterhorse 2.1 has not yet broken the sound barrier but is expected to validate key engine design elements for the record-attempt prototype.
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