Pentagon-backed aviation firm Hermeus unveils plan for 20-passenger jet that can hit 3,850mph – five times speed of sound

A Pentagon-backed aviation company hopes to build a passenger plane that can fly from New York to Paris in just 90 minutes at a speed of 6,000 kilometers per hour.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Hermeus has big ambitions to develop a 20-seat aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound.

The company is currently building a prototype unmanned aerial vehicle called Quarterhorse after receiving a $30 million contract from the US Air Force. Quarterhorse is expected to make its first test flight in 2024.

That’s what Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica said Forbes that despite the project’s ambitious nature, ‘the business challenges are actually the really tough ones’.

“You’re not going to raise billions of dollars just to develop a passenger jet,” he said.

The company was founded in 2018 ‘to radically accelerate air traffic’.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Hermeus has big ambitions to develop a 20-seat aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound. The company is currently building prototypes of unmanned drones called Quarterhorse (pictured)

Quarterhorse will enable the company to test technologies and materials that will help achieve the goal of developing a passenger jet that can fly from Paris to New York in 90 minutes

Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica, pictured, has high hopes for the concept aircraft

“Towards hypersonic passenger jets, Hermeus is working with government agencies, including the US Air Force and NASA, to develop a range of autonomous aircraft that subvert technology and solve pressing national security problems.

“These products provide the data and confidence needed to certify, manufacture, operate and maintain safe and comfortable commercial aircraft.”

Quarterhorse is being heralded as ‘the fastest plane in the world’ and will allow the company to test its technology and materials.

Hermeus is also developing a ‘Darkhorse’ aircraft that will test fly in 2026. The company is valued at $400 million and has raised $119 million.

The last supersonic airliner was the Concorde, a turbojet-powered aircraft that operated until 2003.

It had a maximum speed of more than twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 kph at cruising altitude) and could accommodate 92 to 128 passengers.

It first flew in 1969, but further testing was needed to determine that it was as viable as a commercial airliner.

Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued to fly for the next 27 years.

It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been commercially operated.

The last supersonic airliner was the Concorde, a turbojet-powered aircraft that operated until 2003

Concorde had a maximum speed of more than twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 kph at cruising altitude) and could accommodate 92 to 128 passengers.

The other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which operated for a much shorter period before being grounded and withdrawn from service due to safety and budget concerns.

Concorde was jointly developed and produced by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty.

The name Concorde, meaning harmony or unity, reflects the collaboration between Britain and France on the project.

In July 2000, an Air France Concorde en route from Paris to New York crashed shortly after takeoff due to an engine fire, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground.

British Airways and Air France’s Concorde fleets are grounded pending an investigation and although transatlantic flights from London and Paris resume after a safety upgrade in November 2001, this could not last long.

In April 2003, it was announced that Concorde would be withdrawn from service due to a sharp decline in passenger numbers due to global economic problems and the aftermath of September 11.

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