Could HERMEUS turn the hypersonic arms race on its head? 

Reminds me of where the Bulls used to practice. It was the most nondescript building out in the suburbs. You would not know that was the Bulls facility unless you knew before looking at it

EXCELLENT piece of work Alex. Never disappoint. High tech info delivered in an engaging format - I live in ATL and have been following Hermeus for a while. Those folks are brilliant.

Please ask them to name the full scale prototype "Crazy Horse" 🙂 The people behind this remind me of Seymour Cray, of Cray Computers. Take existing technology and push it to the absolute maximum in terms of engineering, no need for technology breakthroughs that may or may not happen.

I remember reading an AW&ST article about a back seat ride in a SR-71. The writer described flying a circle around Boise, Idaho at Mach 3. The circle had a diameter of 90 miles. At those speeds it seems maneuvers would have to be very gradual and therefore predictable.

All I can say is...fly baby fly! 46 years ago when I started working on A-4s another squadron on base flew the T-2 that was powered by 2 non afterburning J85 engines. We had the j52 engines that made the J85 look tiny as you said. Hell I have an acquaintance that runs a J85 in his dragster. They are tough and reliable. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. Thank you and be safe.

Alex, each episode is better than the last. Not sure if you see it yet, but you do realize you are the new Tom Brokaw or Walter Kronkite of the aviation world, don't you? I don't suppose that title pays much, but I hope knowing that you are the very best at what you do is compensation enough for you to keep at it. From a supporter since the beginning, keep the great work coming my man.

I have said it before, on many occasions. Now I will say it again. I just love listening to you. It was a great day at work and now I am unwinding. Feet up, bowl smoking and Air Power. Thanks Alex.😎😎😎

All I can say is WOW! That's impressive technology. Great report Alex.

I said it before; now I want to say again--Alex you and your team are the BEST! Congratulations on your recent award. Well-deserved.

Love your content. Thanks for the update on Hermeus, when that engine transitions from turbojet to ramjet, it gives me goosebumps.

"...tends to be in missiles, where you can make good use of that crash..." And the Well Turned Phrase award goes to... Sandboxx!

Could you maybe do a video on how AGI and systems like ChatGPT will impact military involvements?

I love your videos!! I am retired active duty USAF and it amazes me how technology has changed in Air Power since I retired 23 years ago. Thank you for all you do!!

I hope Hermeus succeeds, if only just to vindicate what sounds like a very sound, fast-but-still-innovative approach to progress. Thanks for this excellent piece!

Subscribed to many YT channels but this is my favourite. Always watch to the end and love the level the show is pitched at. Well done you three and hope you have a good summer. Take care, Andrew

amazing piece. great work with this. watched it all the way through and even took notes. keep up the great work!

As always, mate, you never fail to deliver. But that is really the solution for all these hypersonic issues a plane or defensive system against it.

Deploying munitions at hypersonic speeds sounds like a bit of a challenge. The sudden change to the drag/airflow characteristics will be challenging to both vehicles. Also, presumably these will be externally mounted (opening bays at that speed would be tricky). But externally mounted munitions might be a challenge for drag and for low observability. Or,... maybe I'm talking out my arse. Well TBH, I am so,.. maybe my arsetalk is complete bollocks.

Perfect reporting - thanks Alex!

Everything moves on and expensive comes cheap or obsolete. Eniveis. Great indepth video with in-location-shot-footage :P If I can say one thing.. This needs maybe more time and effort in editing but I'd like to see some simple examples with these huge prices.. I can't wrap my mind around them easily but if you somehow show them as visual examples. The highest number is one long bar and everything you compare to it is shown as increments in the bar. Or something similar. That would bring a new layer of something we number-limited-people could get a grasp on. I bet, Im not the only one. Otherwise, great content - Airpower or Firepower or any military power you throw at us we are humbled to get to watch! :) Greetings from Finland!

Not only the advanced propulsion but and airframe able to withstand the G of maneuvering as well as guidance systems strong enough to continue functioning under the same stresses!

I wish there was a video game around development and deployment of jet/rocket/drone technology. I find this defense industry stuff wildly fascinating. Another banger Alex, thank you.

This is a quality Channel, and I trust its contents because of its association with so many reputable people and a rich history of verifiable reports. I am therefore highly encouraged by this report.

Another excellent presentation, Alex!

Do you remember the early evolution of the Jet Engine, you know when they had ICE engines to provide the airflow for the jets, which were probably precursors to the RAM Jet? Hermeus and this presentation reminded me of that! Good presentation!

I love your intro music! Its grown so much, and makes me feel pretty hype for what the video will be.

This is a concept I have never heard of or thought even possible, a re-usable bomb!

All of their designs are absolutely beautiful! As with boats, if it looks good, it will go well.

Very lightly touched on the idea of heat. From my sources SR71 had bigger issues with heat.

The content and writing in this is LOL awesome! Educational, entertaining, and inspiring all at same time!

Nobody who paints a container black has ever been in one on a hot day. I smell "fake it till you make it or bail out with your golden parachute".

This is also very important because we can't keep relying on the same big three defense contractors for all our defense needs.

Yes, your research is top notch, but your prose and structure... Pretty much perfect. You have a great team.

Pratt and Whitney makes the F100-PW series engine. GE makes the F110-GE series engine. Both are used in the F-15 and F-16. I'm personally acquainted with the F100-PW-220 and the F110-GE-100 and -129 (F-16s, C/D models, blocks 30, 32, 40, 42 and 50). The F110-GE engine is an evolution of the F101-GE engine used in the B-1. I'm not aware of any GE engine with the designation F100; the only "F100" engine I know of is the Pratt. But you refer, multiple times, to a GE F100 engine. What am I missing?

WOW what an eye opener ESPECIALLY @17:54 ...and that's not the biggest baddest turbofan in inventory 😳😲🤯🤓 thank you again and well done 🙏👏👏👏

Alex! You are awesome!

As someone who works on turbojet engines, this topic gets me really excited

YOUR AMAZING 👍👍 another great video 💯

I would put the weapon deployment from an internal bay while maintaining hypersonic flight to be one of the hardest parts.

I love the intro on each episode!

Love your work! Job Well Done! Thank You! Oohraah!!! 🇺🇸🤠🇺🇸

Thanks Alex for all of your hard work and research by you and your team...... Shoe🇺🇸

comin in hot with that opener

Wow, great content. Very informative and well presented!

Please keep an eye out for anyone building a hybrid engine with a scramjet instead of a ramjet, ok? (A pipe dream, I know.) Still, people have solved harder problems, so it's not really a matter of "if", but "when". Oh, and of course, what a great explanation of the Chimera design. You go! Also, you didn't mention it, but think about a Mach 6 aircraft dropping dumb bombs, and smart bombs would be even better but they'd have to be more "fast bombs" to alter their course at those crazy speeds. But, still, a dumb bomb at Mach 6 speed does more damage with just kinetic energy than a same-sized conventional bomb w/ explosives. And the bigger the bomb, the more energy is converted. Another great concept would be a "shotgun bomb" where a Mach 6 craft would drop a container that splits into multiple smaller bomblets spreading across a wider area, say an entire military base or airfield. Big bombs for high-value individual targets, shotgun bombs for large-area targets. Imagine carpet-bombing an area with Mach 6 pellets...ouch!

Bronco velontra RDRE! Rotation Detonation is hear! Please run wild with this one!

Another excellent episode Alex !

Since you did an NGAD video, maybe you should do an F/A-XX video

So, as a child of the 80s and 90s, I know Rage Against the Machine very well. A very anarchistic band. It's very ironic they chose that music for this video. But, very awesome video.

Can you do a video comparing the best carrier jets in use currently? f35, Rafale, and f18?

Thanks Alex, enjoyed this presentation very much. I can certainly appreciate all our brilliant young minds around the nation as we continue to challenge conventional thought, and design. Not to mention our adversaries. These people are the epitome of, " if you can think it, you can do it ". This has always made the United States of America the incredible innovator, and force it is. Thanks again for your work, and all the best, 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Glory to God, Victory for Ukraine, Rise Free Nations!

What a name for a company!

How will a change in course work at that speed? If you can't make it highly maneuverable what's the point?

Love the new music. GL on Paris.

I wish them luck! Imagine a small company standing alongside The Skunk Works!!!! I love America!!!

Sure no one can defeat this new technology!!!!and thats air superiority!!!!

"It's never about who started them. It's always about who finishes."

Amazing video!!! I’ve been following Hermeus for a while and am interested in working there after I graduate. Keep up the great content! 🇺🇸 I know there isn’t a ton of information on it but I would love to see a video on the use of Starship 🚀 as a troop and weapons cache deployment system and how that could work in a war zone such as Taiwan..

Great piece, love your channel. Have you looked at Stratolaunch? They claim to have a hypersonic craft that can achieve Mach 7.

I think China and Russia are going to regret touting this hypersonic stuff bc the juggernaut that is America will in time succeed in deploying a true hypersonic maneuverable aircraft.

Even if this could get up to speed, it will be interesting to see whether it can deal with the heat or do anything but fly

Freaking fascinating!

The Darkhorse looks like a mix of the SR-72 and Firefox, especially with its wing tips down.

At 22:00 there is a brief image of a RCS range that features a retractable pylon to hide test models from prying enemy satellites. There's one in Helendale, Calif and one at White Sands, New Mexico.

So... one thing I wonder about with these hypersonic drone and fighter/bomber ideas is - how easy is it to fire a weapon from a vehicle moving at hypersonic speeds? I would think that having a weapons bay door open at that speed would be tricky because it could destabilize the aircraft moving at those speeds. Do you externally mount a weapon to avoid this. If you fire a weapon from it how is that weapon going to interact with the shockwave of the aircraft moving at mach 5+? Is it going to get bumped right back into the vehicle? This is not like shooting a weapon from a modern fighter jet where the missile is moving faster than the jet at launch and rockets away. We will not have any hypersonic missiles remember? So no missile would be able to rocket away from this without also causing potential issues for the aircraft itself. Slowing down the aircraft to fire is counterproductive. At these speeds do we even need to fire a missile from it? Is a bomb more realistic at this speed and if so would it be better to drop it out the back to avoid this? Could a simplified and smaller version of a "rod-from-god" be just as effective. A half dozen 250lb tungsten rods a meter or two long, dropped from a rotary launcher, and with GBU style targeting abilities, could pack a big punch hitting at those speeds even if they slow down some.

4:09, “…only use these missile once”….or CAN you? *insert wide defense Corporation smile*

Nothing quite like sharing secrets with the world on RU-vid

Surprised they are not using the j58 engine core. It was designed & proven at the pressure/heat past mach 3. Would be surprised if the air force didn't have dozens in storage.

Fascinating stuff. I wonder if there is any limit to how fast a material object can travel through the atmosphere and remain intact. Guess we'll find out eventually.

One of the challenges of hypersonic drones is that they tend to sheath themselves in plasma which blocks radio signals meaning they can’t have radar nor communications. Anyone know ways around this?

Great content. Thanks

Still waiting to invest when they go public 🤘

Hermeus: builds a working commercial hypersonic aircraft* China: Placing massive orders***

A qualified remarkable technology upgrade of the USA 🇺🇸 aviation progressives ... Thank you for sharing

I thought the SR-71 was a combined cycle turbo ramjet since it would take off with the turbo fan, reach its top speed with the ram jet, and then land using the turbo fan again

Hermeus sounds like spaceX around a decade ago. They will go far.

Maybe engines from decommissioned aircrafts could be used to keep cost down

Congratulations excellent

They got any VAG engineers? They’re notorious for using the parts bin.

"Combined cycle" engines ... WOW!

Rather than using coaxial turbine ramjet engines, I would have been tempted to use the parallel flow design of the XF-103.

Just watched the Real Engineering video about this company and holy shit, I'm a believer lol

What about a reconfigured Spacex Raptor engine? Simple, readily produced and tested with significant thrust.

Those metal 3d printers are amazing!! First step in star trks replicators.

America the Beautiful!

The last China test I read about missed the target by 18 miles. That is actually survivable even with a nuke.

12:40 - anyone else get 'Firefox' flashbacks...?

22:58 The problem with this sentence in regards to the Space Race is you can't really win it as the race have no definitive finish line, all you can do is hold the lead.

Realy I like this powerful weapons

What do you think of the Ghost Bat?

The Jet Aircraft, In The Tom Cruise Movie, That Was Displayed As A Mock Up Was Actually The Real Thing, Right In Plain Sight. The Craft Is Operational, And In The Sky. USDP

A single F100 engine with ramjet will achieve around mach 4. That's the engine, not the aircraft. The SR was a mach 4.4 airframe. The engine was a mach 2.2 engine. The spike is what allowed the SR to fly at mach 3.68.

Whats the big deal Alex? Russia can do all of this already! Where's my eye roll emoji..... Sarcasm turned off, we're living in a wonderful time much like the time of the space race. What I would give to be of college age again to get involved with this. Keep up the great work.

Does anyone knows what is up with Skylon and their SABRE engine? While I don't think those are hypersonic design, they should still be flying by now.

Of course if the US really fielded a hyper sonic replacement for the black bird back in the 1990's then they have already done this, but at what cost and how. Also there is reaction engines SABRE concept engine , which is a concept under development by Reaction Engines Limited for a hypersonic precooled hybrid air-breathing rocket engine. The engine is being designed to achieve single-stage-to-orbit capability, propelling the proposed Skylon spaceplane to low Earth orbit. which could go faster and i believe the Pentagon showed some interest in this engine.

If dark horse was armed with any conventional bomb while flying at Mach four and high altitude, it could land with incredible destructive power. Cheap gravity bombs could prove to be difficult to stop from that platform.

A modernization of the SR-71's J58 engine.

So a hypersonic interceptor/ground attack? Sounds terrifying.

I wonder if some one would be able to make a RAM Jet engine that can automatically change to SCRAM Jet propultion in mid air... Or is it even possible to take of that "body" that compresses the air in the RAM jet engine to automaticaly change it to a SCRAM jet propultion

But what about fuel and its consumption? AND, what about the reality of ChiCom hypersonic missiles? Do we know if they really work or, for that matter, dependable?