Atlanta-Based aerospace startup unveils Hypersonic Aircraft Prototype

Atlanta-Based aerospace startup unveiled its Mach 5-capable hypersonic aircraft prototype this week, wowing the audience with the roar of its engine afterburner.

The developer, Hermeus, stated that the unveiling of the flightless prototype allows them to demonstrate the “progress being made on hardware development and integration.” Hermeus COO Skyler Shuford explained that the company “designed, manufactured, and integrated the aircraft, from nothing but an outer shape, in four months.”

Hermeus clinched a $60 million US Air Force contract in August to flight test the aircraft, called QuarterHouse. The company stated that the test will validate its proprietary turbine-based combined cycle engine, which is “based around the GE J85 turbojet engine, and is the first in a line of autonomous high-speed aircraft.”

The company aims to develop “the world’s fastest reusable aircraft” using its untried engine