VIVAERO

Hermeus launches HEAT facility with successful F100 engine tests

Hermeus, an aerospace and defence technology company specialising in high-speed aircraft, has officially inaugurated its new High Enthalpy Air-Breathing Test Facility (HEAT) with a series of successful tests of the Pratt & Whitney F100 engine.

This facility is set to become a crucial asset for both military and commercial engine testing, enhancing the efficiency and affordability of supersonic and hypersonic test infrastructure.

“In just three months since breaking ground, HEAT has come online and is positioned to unlock low-cost, high-capability propulsion testing which will support the delivery of hypersonic aircraft before the end of the decade,” said Hermeus co-founder and CEO, AJ Piplica. “Current hypersonic test facilities are booked a year or more in advance and are prohibitively expensive. HEAT will alleviate capacity limitations, offer more affordable options, and establish itself as a critical national resource for hypersonic testing.”

The HEAT facility is being developed incrementally, with future phases set to introduce continuous high-Mach vitiated airflow, enabling more flight-like hypersonic testing conditions on the ground.

The Pratt & Whitney F100 engine currently being tested will be utilized in Hermeus’ next aircraft, Quarterhorse Mk 2. When paired with Hermeus’ proprietary precooler engine technology, Mk 2 will be capable of reaching speeds greater than Mach 2.5, making it the world’s first high-Mach autonomous aircraft.

Additionally, the F100 will serve as the turbine core of Hermeus’ Chimera engine, a turbine-based combined cycle engine capable of achieving Mach 5, hypersonic speeds. Chimera will power Quarterhorse Mk 3, which is being designed to demonstrate the transition from turbine to ramjet mode in flight, potentially breaking the air speed record held by the legendary SR-71.

Located at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, the HEAT facility incorporates test infrastructure from the former Cecil Naval Air Station. Hermeus inherited multiple test cells, originally built in 1959, and an aircraft hush house from 1989. These facilities are being retrofitted to support modern commercial and military engines.

"Building out the first phase of HEAT in just three months is an extraordinary achievement," said Alex Miller, manager of propulsion test engineering at Hermeus. "We brought the facility online in one-eighth the time and at one-tenth the cost of similar engine test cell projects. The buildings we started with were essentially concrete and metal shells. Hermeus engineered and installed custom fuel supply systems, air start systems, data acquisition and control systems, the thrust stand, and all the mechanical and electrical interfaces for the F100 engine."

Hermeus is dedicated to radically accelerating air travel by delivering hypersonic aircraft. The company aims to develop these aircraft quickly and cost-effectively by integrating hardware-rich, iterative development with modern computing and autonomy. This approach has been validated through the design, build, and test of the company’s first combined turbojet-ramjet engine and is now being scaled through its first flight vehicle program, Quarterhorse. It is also developing Darkhorse, an uncrewed hypersonic aircraft designed to deliver unique asymmetric capabilities to the warfighter.

www.hermeus.com