UAV Development & Drone Programs   Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy   Hypersonic   North America   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  

Hermeus completes first flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 supersonic unmanned demonstrator

Hermeus completed the first flight of its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, a roughly F‑16‑sized unmanned supersonic demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100‑229. The flight begins a supersonic test campaign for one of the largest unmanned aircraft built and follows another prototype flown earlier this year.

Discovered 2026-03-02T15:33:59.459314-08:00 | 2026-03-02T15:33:59.459314-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • Validates progression to an F‑16‑sized, Pratt & Whitney F100‑229‑powered unmanned supersonic demonstrator — described by the company as one of the largest unmanned aircraft built — and formally begins a supersonic test campaign.
  • The programme’s accelerated tempo (a second new prototype to fly within nine months) and planned trials underscore rapid private‑sector maturation of operational‑scale high‑speed UAVs; this follows Hermeus's relocation to Spaceport America for supersonic testing.
  • Hermeus’s activity sits alongside national research into high‑speed flight such as NASA's X-59, with implications for future regulatory, airspace and sonic‑boom policy as supersonic unmanned operations advance.

Reported By

Air & Space Forces Mag forcaaerea.com.br aeromorning.com aviationnews.eu AeroTime FlightGlobal
Sources Tracked
16
First Seen
2026-03-02T15:33:59.459314-08:00
Latest Update
2026-03-06T12:19:23.341995-08:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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