Hermeus has selected Anduril Industries’ Lattice for Mission Autonomy as the core mission-planning and execution software for its Quarterhorse Mk 2 high-Mach uncrewed aircraft, with the first combined flight planned for 2027.
The 3 September 2026 agreement brings Anduril’s autonomy stack onto a third-party large aircraft outside its own Fury/YFQ-44 programme and gives Hermeus an end-to-end software layer intended to automate aircraft operation, adapt missions in flight and coordinate Quarterhorse with other crewed and uncrewed assets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Key Facts
- Aircraft: Quarterhorse Mk 2 family
- Autonomy supplier: Anduril Industries
- Software: Lattice for Mission Autonomy
- Agreement announced: 3 September 2026
- First combined flight: Planned for 2027
- Mk 2.1 demonstrated speed: Mach 1.21
- DIU contract ceiling: $219 million
- Commercial agreement value: Not disclosed
The New Milestone Is Mission Autonomy
Quarterhorse has already demonstrated remotely controlled supersonic flight. The Anduril agreement addresses the next layer: turning a high-speed test aircraft into a platform that can execute missions with substantially greater onboard autonomy.
Hermeus says Lattice will become the core software engine for mission planning and execution on Quarterhorse Mk 2. In practical terms, the companies are targeting both platform-level automation and mission-level decision support.
Hermeus Chief Executive Zach Shore told Breaking Defense that the company wants the aircraft to progress toward automated start-up, take-off and other basic functions that allow one person to manage multiple platforms. Anduril described its role as an end-to-end solution spanning aircraft autonomy and ground-control systems.
First Joint Flight Planned for 2027
Hermeus says integration work is already under way and the first combined Quarterhorse-Lattice flight is planned for 2027.
The exact Mk 2 subvariant has not been publicly identified. That matters because Quarterhorse Mk 2 is an iterative family: Mk 2.1 validated supersonic flight, Mk 2.2 is intended to push above Mach 2, and Mk 2.3 is designed for the thermal environment near Mach 3.
Defence Agenda therefore treats the autonomy integration as a Mk 2 programme activity rather than assigning it to a specific subvariant without confirmation.
Mk 2.1 Reached Mach 1.21
Hermeus announced on 26 May 2026 that Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 reached Mach 1.21 on its third test flight from Spaceport America over White Sands Missile Range airspace.
The aircraft achieved supersonic flight less than three months after its first sortie. Hermeus describes Mk 2.1 as roughly F-16-sized and powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100 engine.
The 2027 Lattice flight is therefore expected to place mission autonomy onto an aircraft family already operating in the supersonic regime rather than a low-speed demonstrator.
Later Mk 2 Aircraft Push Toward Mach 3
Hermeus’ roadmap uses multiple Mk 2 aircraft to increase speed and thermal complexity incrementally.
Mk 2.2 is intended to exceed Mach 2 while introducing a spike inlet and validating precooler technology. Mk 2.3 is intended to operate near Mach 3 using higher-temperature materials.
The wider Mk 2 propulsion architecture uses a Pratt & Whitney F100 combined with Hermeus’ proprietary precooler. The later Mk 3 is planned to use the full Chimera turbine-based combined-cycle system with a ramjet section and target speeds near Mach 4.
These are future programme objectives, not demonstrated performance of a Lattice-equipped aircraft.
Lattice Moves Beyond Fury
Hermeus says Quarterhorse is the first third-party large-scale aircraft integration of Anduril’s mission-autonomy software outside Fury.
That gives Anduril an opportunity to test Lattice in a flight regime very different from the Collaborative Combat Aircraft mission envelope.
High-Mach aircraft compress reaction times and mission geometry. The companies argue that autonomy can help the aircraft react to changing conditions, coordinate with other assets and exploit speed without requiring one remote pilot for every aircraft.
No joint Quarterhorse-Lattice flight has yet occurred, so high-Mach autonomous mission performance remains unvalidated publicly.
Lattice Is Already in the Air Force CCA Programme
Anduril’s mission-autonomy software has a separate role in the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme.
Anduril says its rebuilt Lattice stack first flew on YFQ-44A on 24 February 2026 and completed a more complex mission in March. The Air Force later selected Lattice for further CCA mission-autonomy work.
The Air Force’s modular approach uses the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture, or A-GRA, to separate aircraft hardware from mission-autonomy software. Hermeus says the Quarterhorse integration reflects the same hardware/software decoupling philosophy.
The Anduril Deal Is Commercial
The Anduril-Hermeus agreement is a funded commercial partnership between the two companies.
Breaking Defense reported that the executives declined to disclose dollar values but confirmed that funds are being exchanged.
The agreement should not automatically be described as a new U.S. government contract for Anduril.
Hermeus says the work can support its existing government-backed development and align with government reference architectures. Shore also said government customers retain the ability to select other autonomy providers if Quarterhorse later transitions into an acquired weapon system.
Hermeus’ DIU Ceiling Reached $219 Million
In May 2026, Hermeus announced a $159 million modification to its Defense Innovation Unit agreement, increasing the total contract ceiling to $219 million.
The expanded effort supports high-Mach flight testing and high-speed payload release with U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy stakeholders.
The $219 million figure is a contract ceiling and is separate from the Anduril commercial agreement. It should not be treated as the value of Lattice integration or as proof that the entire amount has already been obligated.
High-Speed Payload Release Moves Toward Military Utility
The current DIU scope moves Quarterhorse closer to operationally relevant experimentation.
High-speed payload release requires stable aircraft control, store separation and mission integration, not merely a high top speed.
Hermeus says 2026–2027 testing is intended to provide the Air Force and Navy with data needed to evaluate future military use cases. No operational production programme of record for Quarterhorse has been publicly announced.
Open Architecture Is Central
Anduril markets Lattice for Mission Autonomy as a hardware-agnostic architecture that can integrate platforms, sensors and payloads from different vendors.
Its functions include intent-to-task translation, sensor fusion, resource management, dynamic planning and autonomous mission execution under human supervision.
The Quarterhorse integration therefore tests not only Hermeus’ aircraft but also whether Anduril’s autonomy software can transfer to an independent high-speed airframe.
Platform Autonomy and Mission Autonomy Are Different Layers
Platform autonomy covers aircraft-operation functions such as start-up, taxi, take-off, flight control and landing.
Mission autonomy sits above that layer and determines how the aircraft should react to threats, mission changes, operator intent and other assets.
Hermeus’ comments indicate that both layers matter to the Quarterhorse partnership because aircraft must first become manageable at scale before collaborative mission behaviour becomes useful.
Propulsion Remains a Separate Risk
Autonomy does not remove Quarterhorse’s high-Mach propulsion challenge.
Hermeus is testing a proprietary precooler with the F100 engine and developing Chimera, a turbine-based combined-cycle architecture intended to transition toward ramjet propulsion at higher speed.
A successful Lattice integration would not by itself validate the Mach 3 or Mach 4 objectives of later Quarterhorse aircraft.
Limitations and Counterpoint
The agreement has not yet produced a joint flight. The first is planned for 2027, and the exact Mk 2 subvariant has not been disclosed.
The commercial agreement value and duration are undisclosed.
The U.S. government has not publicly selected Lattice as a mandatory autonomy package for a future Quarterhorse weapon system.
Quarterhorse remains a development and experimentation programme. The $219 million DIU ceiling supports test work, not a production order for operational aircraft.
Implications / Next
The next milestones are ground integration of Lattice with Quarterhorse, the planned 2027 joint flight, the level of autonomy demonstrated during that flight, connection to DIU high-speed payload-release testing and any future government decision to move the platform into an operational acquisition path.
Conclusion
Hermeus’ selection of Anduril moves Quarterhorse into a phase in which autonomy becomes as important as raw speed.
Lattice will serve as the mission-planning and execution software for the Mk 2 programme, with the first combined flight planned for 2027.
The partnership gives Anduril its first third-party large-aircraft integration of Lattice outside Fury and gives Hermeus a mature autonomy stack as it pushes Quarterhorse from remotely controlled high-Mach testing toward more operationally relevant uncrewed missions.
The key boundary remains procurement: the commercial partnership is real and funded, but no government production decision has been announced.
