City Council unanimously approved up to $2 million in incentives July 23 for an undisclosed aerospace and defense technology company that intends to set up a testing facility for hypersonic aircraft at Cecil Airport.
According to Ordinance 2024-0490, the code-named Project Heat plans a $135 million capital investment to expand its research and development operations at an existing hangar at the airport in West Jacksonville.
The company will lease space adjacent to the flight line and runway operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
Aviationweek.com reported June 11 that the company is Atlanta-based Hermeus Corp.
The company’s website says Hermeus has a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to “mature hypersonic aircraft subsystem and mission system technology.”
Hermeus will use its commercial high-speed flight test prototype, Quarterhorse, to support technical maturation and risk reduction for future hypersonic aircraft.
The contract is part of the Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities (HyCAT) initiative, which aims to use commercial flight test capabilities to expand the Department of Defense’s high-speed flight test capacity, according to a news release.
The application to the city said the facility will open and employ 100 full-time workers with an average wage of more than $100,000 no later than December 2028.
Incentives from the city comprise a 10-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value grant up to $2 million for the project. The grant is a partial refund of the increased real property and intangible tax revenue generated by construction of the new facility.
The state of Florida is providing a $3 million High-Impact Performance Incentive Award and a Capital Investment Tax Credit of up to 100% of corporate tax liability for the project.