GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — Auriga Space in Garden Grove, Calif., has completed the first field test of Hermes, a containerized electromagnetic launcher meant to launch projectiles for counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) missions.

Auriga conducted more than a dozen launches at speeds above Mach 1 at a remote site in California's Mojave Desert. The test moved Hermes outside the laboratory and into a field environment for the first time.

The company plans another field test this fall as it works to ruggedize the launcher and improve its aiming and reloading capabilities.

Related: Nullspace releases electromagnetic simulation suite for faster RF and antenna design

Electromagnetic launch replaces the rocket motor

A conventional interceptor typically uses a rocket motor to accelerate away from its launcher. Hermes takes a different approach by converting stored electrical energy into the motion needed to speed up a projectile.

Instead of burning propellant to produce thrust during the initial launch, Auriga's electromagnetic technology uses a linear electric motor to quicken payloads before it leaves the launcher. For counter-UAS applications, that changes the equipment needed to launch an interceptor.

Auriga is developing Hermes to work with inert and guided projectiles, although the Mojave test focused on the launcher itself rather than demonstrating a complete engagement against a drone.

Repeated firing introduces another set of constraints

Countering multiple drones creates a different problem from engaging a single target. A defensive system may have to launch several interceptors in succession, making the time and resources required between shots part of the equation.

Auriga says Hermes' battery system can support hundreds of launches on a single charge. Electrical capacity, however, is only one factor that determines how quickly the launcher can respond to successive threats. Projectile capacity, reloading, aiming, and the rest of the engagement chain also affect the firing cycle.

Auriga plans to address some of those requirements during its next field test, with work focused on faster aiming and reloading.

Containerized design takes the launcher into the field

Hermes packages the electromagnetic launcher and its supporting equipment inside a 10-foot shipping container. During the Mojave test, Auriga operated the system away from established infrastructure in temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Internal batteries supplied power during the launches, while onboard solar equipment provided a way to recharge the system. Packaging the launcher this way is intended to allow Auriga to move it between locations without building permanent launch infrastructure.

Mobility is only one part of making the system operational. A fielded counter-UAS system would also have to connect the launcher with the sensing, tracking and fire-control equipment needed to identify a target and determine when and where to fire.

Hermes builds on Auriga's broader electromagnetic work

Auriga is working with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC) on the military application of its electromagnetic launch technology. The two organizations signed a three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement in July to share data and technical expertise and establish a development path for electromagnetic counter-UAS technology.

Hermes also draws on technology Auriga uses in Prometheus, its electromagnetic accelerator for hypersonic testing. The company is applying the same underlying launch architecture to several applications, ranging from high-speed testing to missile defense and space access.