On Thursday, aerospace company Hermeus has announced that it partnered with the U.S. Air Force and the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate to work toward hypersonic travel for the Department of Defense.

Hermeus has awarded an $1.5 million contract to evaluate potential hypersonic military transports for a 9-19-seat aircraft, including for the executive airlift mission.

This award comes under an Other Transaction For Prototype Agreement Direct to Phase II contract through AFWERX after Hermeus successfully tested a Mach 5 engine prototype in February 2020.

The effort is focused on rapidly assessing modifications to Hermeus Mach 5 aircraft to support the Presidential and Executive Airlift fleet. Early integration of unique Air Force requirements for high-speed mobility and evaluation of interfaces between high-speed aircraft and existing communications, airport, and air traffic control infrastructure lays the groundwork for a seamless transition to service. Additionally, Hermeus will prepare test plans to reduce technical risk associated with these modifications to support Air Force requirements.

Brigadier General Ryan Britton, Program Executive Officer for Presidential and Executive Airlift commented on the program: “Leaps in capability are vital as we work to complicate the calculus of our adversaries. By leveraging commercial investment to drive new technologies into the Air Force, we are able to maximize our payback on Department of Defense investments. The Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate is proud to support Hermeus in making this game-changing capability a reality as we look to recapitalize the fleet in the future.”

The mouth of the beast. pic.twitter.com/0BmGKWSBG7

— Hermeus (@hermeuscorp) March 11, 2020

Preceding the award, the Hermeus team designed from scratch, built, and successfully tested a Mach 5 engine prototype, in only 9 months. The test campaign both served as risk reduction for Hermeus’ turbine-based combined cycle engine architecture and illustrates the team’s ability to execute with schedule and funding efficiency. “Using our pre-cooler technology, we’ve taken an off-the-shelf gas turbine engine and operated it at flight speed conditions faster than the famed SR-71. In addition, we’ve pushed the ramjet mode to Mach 4-5 conditions, demonstrating full-range hypersonic air-breathing propulsion capability,” said Glenn Case, Hermeus’ CTO.