Hermeus Names New Leaders to Accelerate Hypersonic Production

ATLANTA, GA – January 26, 2026 – High-speed aircraft developer Hermeus today announced a significant leadership restructuring, appointing Zachary Shore as President and Steve Furger as Chief Technology Officer. The move signals a pivotal transition for the company, shifting its focus from research and prototyping toward scaling operations for the full-scale production of its ambitious high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft.

The executive appointments are designed to fortify the company's business and technical foundations as it prepares to meet the demanding delivery schedules of its defense-focused programs. As Hermeus matures, the new leadership structure aims to tightly integrate its aggressive technical roadmap with a robust corporate strategy, positioning it to dominate the emerging market of next-generation defense aviation.

A Strategic Shift from Prototype to Production

Zachary Shore’s promotion to President from his previous role as Chief Revenue Officer marks a clear strategic pivot. While his prior focus was on building the company's commercial and government revenue streams, his new, expanded role puts him at the helm of the entire business apparatus. Shore will now oversee the integration of all business functions, strategic execution, and the rapid expansion of the company's physical infrastructure and corporate framework.

This move is critical as Hermeus expands beyond a nimble startup into a major defense contractor. The company has invested heavily in infrastructure, including its $135 million HEAT facility in Jacksonville, to overcome national shortages in hypersonic testing capabilities. Shore's leadership will be instrumental in managing this growth and ensuring the company can deliver on its complex, multi-billion dollar contracts.

"Zach has been instrumental in building the commercial foundation of this company," said AJ Piplica, Founder & CEO of Hermeus, in a statement. "As President, his focus grows from driving revenue to driving the entire business. He will ensure our strategic execution keeps pace with our technical ambitions, positioning Hermeus to win as we mature from prototyping to the delivery of full-scale systems."

Solidifying the 'Hardware-Rich' Technical Vision

Complementing the new business focus is the appointment of Steve Furger as Chief Technology Officer. Furger is tasked with steering the company's long-term technical vision and engineering roadmap, a crucial role as Hermeus juggles multiple, increasingly complex aircraft programs simultaneously.

His primary mandate is to maintain technical integrity and uphold the company's core 'hardware-rich' philosophy. This approach, which emphasizes rapid, iterative cycles of designing, building, and testing physical hardware, has allowed Hermeus to accelerate learning and manage risk far more quickly than traditional aerospace development cycles. Furger’s leadership will ensure this agile methodology remains central to the company's identity as it scales.

"As an engineering-led business, our technical approach is our most valuable asset," Piplica stated. "With multiple programs now underway, we need a technical leader focused on laying out the long-term roadmap and executing on it today. Steve has consistently demonstrated that he is that leader. He ensures we're solving the right problems and drives our team to deliver."

The Race to Mach 5: An Ambitious Roadmap

The leadership shuffle comes as Hermeus makes tangible progress on its aggressive product roadmap. The company’s Quarterhorse program, a series of uncrewed testbeds, exemplifies its iterative strategy. The program began with the Quarterhorse Mk 0, a non-flying prototype used for ground systems validation in 2023. It was followed by the Mk 1, which successfully completed its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base in May 2025, demonstrating high-speed takeoff and landing capabilities with its GE J85 engine.

Currently, the company is deep into manufacturing the Quarterhorse Mk 2. This larger, F-16-sized aircraft is powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100 engine—the same used in many frontline fighters—and is designed to achieve supersonic flight by the end of 2025. This vehicle is a critical stepping stone, accelerating the path to the company's multi-mission hypersonic drone, Darkhorse. The ultimate goal for the Quarterhorse program is to fly a vehicle that surpasses the SR-71 Blackbird's long-standing airspeed record, with the Mk 3 iteration planned to integrate the company's proprietary Chimera hybrid engine and push beyond Mach 3.3 by 2026.

Navigating a High-Stakes Market

Hermeus is executing its strategy within a fiercely competitive and strategically critical market. While startups like Boom Supersonic focus on commercial travel, Hermeus has carved a distinct path by focusing exclusively on defense applications. This has attracted significant financial backing, with the company raising over $350 million from a mix of top-tier venture capital firms like Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund, and strategic investors including In-Q-Tel and RTX Ventures, the venture arm of Raytheon Technologies.

Crucially, Hermeus has also secured a series of high-value government contracts. These include a $60 million partnership with the U.S. Air Force for the Quarterhorse program and a contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to mature its technologies. The company is also a prime contractor on a $950 million Air Force contract for advanced battle management systems, underscoring the deep trust the Department of Defense has placed in its capabilities. This blend of private capital and government backing provides the financial firepower needed to challenge established defense giants like Lockheed Martin and Boeing in the hypersonic domain.

Bolstering National Security in the Hypersonic Era

Ultimately, the appointments of Shore and Furger are about accelerating Hermeus's core mission: delivering a decisive strategic advantage to the United States and its allies. The company works directly with the Department of War to develop aircraft that can operate at speeds and altitudes that challenge existing adversary defenses. Hypersonic weapons and reconnaissance platforms are seen as a critical capability for future conflicts, and Hermeus’s rapid, cost-effective development model is a direct answer to the Pentagon's call for a more agile defense industrial base.

The potential applications are vast, ranging from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to high-speed strike and even the transport of high-value personnel, as explored in a concept for a hypersonic 'Air Force One'. By structuring its leadership to scale production and maintain technical excellence, Hermeus is not just building a company; it is building a foundational pillar of America's future national security strategy. With its leadership team solidified and its roadmap accelerating, the company is positioned to redefine the strategic calculus of high-speed defense for the coming decades.