Hermeus closed a $350 million Series C, bringing its total capital raised to more than $500 million and its post-money valuation to $1 billion. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with continued participation from Founders Fund, RTX Ventures, and In-Q-Tel, among others, and includes $200 million in equity and $150 million in debt financing.

The funding accelerates the company's transition from prototyping to mission-ready platforms. Following the successful flight of Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, Hermeus says supersonic flight is now imminent, with the team scaling to a fleet of three F-16-scale aircraft to pursue a path to Mach 3 and begin customer payload integration.

Hermeus is expanding its footprint with a new headquarters in El Segundo, California, while its Atlanta facility shifts focus to production. CEO AJ Piplica framed the raise around manufacturing throughput, noting that building multiple aircraft simultaneously shortens the path to ramjet-powered flight and fielding scalable, high-speed platforms for national security customers.

President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, crediting Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir as mediators. The announcement came after Trump had threatened to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants if his demands were not met, warning that "a whole civilization will die tonight."

The abrupt pivot capped a day of escalating strikes, with U.S. and Israeli forces hitting railway and road bridges, an airport, and a petrochemical plant, while U.S. forces struck targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran's main oil export terminal. Iranian state television called Trump's announcement a "humiliating retreat," and Iran said talks would begin Friday in Islamabad. Israel also agreed to suspend its bombing campaign, though Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel shortly after Trump's post.

Trump said Iran submitted a 10-point proposal he described as "a workable basis" for negotiations, and that he expects a definitive agreement to be finalized within the two-week window. The war, now in its sixth week, has claimed more than 5,000 lives across nearly a dozen countries; the Strait closure has sharply elevated global oil prices and heightened recession fears as Trump's approval ratings hit their lowest recorded levels.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched additional one-way attack drones against Iran and disclosed that hundreds of unmanned platforms have now been employed across the conflict in offensive, defensive, air, sea, subsurface, and ground roles. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement that these systems are "fully integrated into offensive and defensive operations against Iran."

Among the platforms deployed are Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack Systems (LUCAS), which made their combat debut in the early days of Operation Epic Fury. LUCAS drones carry a reported range of 500 miles, cost $55,000 or less per unit, and feature autonomy, anti-jamming, and swarming capabilities. A CENTCOM spokesperson confirmed LUCAS platforms were part of the April 7 attack, though target types and launch locations were not disclosed.

The scale of drone integration marks a significant operational milestone for the Pentagon's unmanned warfare doctrine. Cooper has long advocated for embedding diverse unmanned platforms into U.S. military operations, and this conflict has served as a live test of that vision across multiple domains simultaneously.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Reuters found that Russian satellites conducted at least 24 surveys of 46 sites across 11 Middle Eastern countries between March 21 and 31, including U.S. and allied military bases, airports, and oil fields. The assessment identified a clear pattern: military bases were struck by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones within days of being surveyed. A specific incident detailed in the assessment, corroborated by a regional security source, involved a Russian satellite imaging Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia days before Iran struck it on March 27, destroying a U.S. E-3 Sentry (AWACS) aircraft.

The assessment also found active collaboration between Russian and Iranian hacker groups via Telegram, with groups such as Russia's NoName057(16) and Iran's Handala Hack coordinating attacks on Israeli energy infrastructure and sharing access credentials for critical systems. Iranian hacker groups were also found to be using techniques and infrastructure traceable to Russian military intelligence, including a Russian virtual private server provider used to register attack domains.

Russia and Iran formalized their intelligence-sharing arrangement in a January 2025 Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which explicitly calls for intelligence services to exchange information to counter common threats. Two Western military sources told Reuters their own intelligence also confirmed intensive Russian satellite activity in the region and said imagery had been shared with Tehran, though the White House maintained that no external support was affecting U.S. operational outcomes.

The U.S. Army has advanced Bell and M1 Support Services to Phase IV of its Flight School Next competition, which seeks to replace the Airbus UH-72A Lakota with a contractor-owned, contractor-operated rotary-wing training program at Fort Rucker. Lockheed Martin, which had competed using the Robinson R66, was eliminated after Phase III, saying it was "disappointed" but proud of the training solutions it developed throughout the process.

Bell is offering its 505-series helicopter, while M1's team includes General Dynamics Information Technology, Robinson Helicopter Company, Quantum Helicopters, and the University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation, also centered on the R66. Phase IV will require finalists to demonstrate their ability to execute the Initial Entry Rotary Wing (IERW) training program more affordably and efficiently than the current government-managed model.

The Army has framed Flight School Next as a cost-reduction and proficiency initiative, citing the Lakota as too advanced and too expensive for basic rotary-wing instruction. The program's timeline remains undisclosed, though a contract award is planned before September 2026. Congressional provisions in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) have complicated the program by requiring a detailed report before any contract can be awarded.

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