Key facts
- ESA's INVICTUS hypersonic aircraft programme completed its first System Requirements Review (SRR-1) in March 2026 and advanced to the next development phase, with SRR-2 expected in October 2027.
- Carroll wrote that the next phase Kick-Off keeps the programme on track toward SRR-2, planned for October 2027.
- Frazer-Nash received €7 million from ESA in July 2025 to fund initial INVICTUS design work.
- ESA's original procurement documents set a Mach 5 flight target for 2028.
ESA’s INVICTUS hypersonic aircraft programme completed its first System Requirements Review in March 2026 and advanced to the next development phase, European Spaceflight reported. Stephan Carroll, INVICTUS chief engineer at Frazer-Nash, confirmed the milestone on LinkedIn on Oct. 23.
Clearing SRR-1 allowed the programme to leave the requirements stage. ESA set SRR-2 for October 2027 after the next phase began.
The pause gave ESA and UKSA time to agree on later planning work. Carroll wrote that the next-phase Kick-Off keeps the programme on track toward SRR-2, planned for October 2027. He described the Kick-Off as the start of the next phase. He said SRR-2 remains on the calendar for October 2027.
Carroll also wrote that design work has advanced in aerodynamics, propulsion, pre-cooling, systems engineering, safety, certification and cost modelling. The areas span technical and business aspects of the aircraft. Carroll made the remark in his LinkedIn post confirming the review completion. “With the next phase Kick-Off, the programme is on track towards SRR-2, currently planned for October 2027,” Carroll said.
Frazer-Nash received €7 million from ESA in July 2025 to fund initial INVICTUS design work. The funding came from ESA in mid-2025. It covered the programme’s initial design stage.
ESA intends to use the programme to develop a reusable hypersonic test aircraft able to reach Mach 5. The vehicle will fly at hypersonic speed. ESA views INVICTUS as a path to a reusable test vehicle.
The agency’s original procurement documents set a Mach 5 flight target for 2028. ESA’s earliest paperwork imagined an earlier flight date. At its formal announcement in July 2025, Frazer-Nash revealed the programme publicly and targeted an early 2031 first flight for a Mach 5-capable aircraft.
Perigo, who holds the technical lead role at ESA for INVICTUS, indicated in June 2026 that integrated propulsion testing would be well under way by around 2032. His June 2026 update addressed propulsion testing timelines. European Spaceflight says this points to a first-flight delay of at least a year, potentially longer.
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