In an effort to accelerate the commercial development of hypersonic aircraft and propulsion systems, the U.S. Air Force is investing in the Hermeus Corporation – a U.S. based aerospace company –via a $60 million jointly funded contract that was awarded July 30.
Currently, the company is developing a hypersonic aircraft capable of flying at five times the speed of sound. At this speed a flight from New York to Paris would only take 90 minutes, compared to the seven and a half hours it typically takes today.
The contract is being funded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and various venture capital sources.
The engagement with Hermeus is part of a larger effort led by the directorate to fuel the burgeoning commercial resurgence of high speed passenger travel, and has been dubbed the “Vector Initiative”.
The initiative aims to partner with commercial sector leaders to accelerate their development and, as a byproduct, advance enabling technologies that could provide the Air Force options for a variety of missions.