The first hypersonic drone

An ambitious project. A startup called Hermeus carried out the flight of its most recent prototype, an experimental aircraft called Quarterhorse MK 2.1, a manned aircraft with the size of an F-16 fighter, but what really draws attention is not the size, it is the objective. This aircraft is part of a program that tries to solve one of the greatest challenges of modern engineering, flight at extreme speeds, near and in the future, beyond the hypersonic barrier, the most interesting thing is the way in which it is being done, traditionally, developing a high-speed aircraft takes decades, but Hermeus is following a completely different path, instead of betting everything on a single project, it is building successive versions. Each testing a specific part of the problem, first groundless testing, then low-speed behavior and now real flight, QuarterHorse MK 2.1 represents exactly that advancement. It is three times larger and four times heavier than the previous prototype and was designed to expand the limits of performance in a gradual and controlled manner. The maiden flight occurred in March 2026 still at subsonic speed, but that is intentional, before accelerating, engineers need to validate every critical detail, aerodynamics, flight control and engine integration, because as speed increases, the behavior of the air around the ship changes completely. Entering the supersonic regime is not just going faster, it is entering a different physical environment, which is why the project uses a delta wing optimized for high speeds and a variable air intake system, which adjusts the flow as the plane accelerates. And all this points to a greater objective QuaterHorse is not the final destination, it is just a step, the real objective is a future aircraft called DarkHorse, a reusable hypersonic vehicle designed for strategic missions and defense, a machine capable of operating in multiple speed ranges using a combined cycle engine, something extremely complex that must operate from low speeds to hypersonic regimes.