Could It Happen? Humans Fly at Hypersonic Speed? Meet the Quarterhorse

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) The SR-71 spy plane’s Mach 3 speed record has held up as unbroken for decades, yet there is an innovator in Atlanta, Ga. seeking to rival this with a first-of-its-kind hypersonic vehicle called Quarterhorse now being prepared to fly hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 or greater.

The Hermeus Quarterhorse recently achieved a massive breakthrough transition where it demonstrated the ability to shift from turbo-jet to ramjet propulsion mode to achieve hypersonic speeds.

The breakthrough, detailed in Popular Mechanics, describes the creation of a new turbojet-scramjet hybrid engine capable of achieving and then sustaining hypersonic speeds.

The article suggests Hermeus is working on an unmanned drone but does anticipate being able to transport humans at hypersonic speeds.

This would indeed be paradigm-changing as humans have thus far been unable to travel at hypersonic speeds due to an inability to survive the extreme heat generated by hypersonic flight.

Hypersonic Breakthrough

Perhaps breakthrough composite materials or cooling technologies have emerged, allowing such technology to now be “on the horizon,” as it certainly is something that would introduce new tactical dynamics in military conflict.