Aerospace and defence technology firm Hermeus has launched its High Enthalpy Air-Breathing Test Facility (HEAT) with successful tests of the Pratt & Whitney F100 engine. HEAT aims to enhance military and commercial engine testing, improving efficiency and lowering costs of supersonic and hypersonic testing.

“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,” says 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 facility will evolve through incremental phases, eventually offering continuous high-Mach vitiated airflow for realistic ground hypersonic testing. The Pratt & Whitney F100 engine will be a key component in Hermeus’ next aircraft, the Quarterhorse Mk 2, which is set to surpass speeds of Mach 2.5 as the first high-Mach autonomous aircraft.

The F100 engine will also serve as the turbine core for Hermeus’ Chimera engine, a combined cycle engine achieving Mach 5 speeds. Chimera is slated to power Quarterhorse Mk 3, which will showcase the transition from turbine to ramjet mode in flight, aiming to surpass the SR-71 air speed record.

Located at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, FL, the HEAT facility utilises test infrastructure from the former Cecil Naval Air Station. Hermeus has retrofitted facilities built in 1959 and 1989 to accommodate contemporary commercial and military engines.

"Building out the first phase of HEAT in just three months is an extraordinary achievement," says 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."