Thread by @soundboy

1/ Europe can lead in hypersonics - if it builds differently and builds faster. That’s why I led @pluralplatform’s investment into @HypersonicaGmbH’s €23 million Series A

2/ Last week I travelled to Andøya in northern Norway to watch Hypersonica’s fully successful first test flight - the first ever privately-funded hypersonic test flight in Europe. Nine months ago, this vehicle was still a systems concept.

3/ I felt a sense of real awe watching the bright flash of the test flight lifting off against the beauty of the Arctic Circle. It felt historic and reminded me of the power of serious founders with a hard technical edge to redefine what feels possible on our continent.

4/ Learning to move and manoeuvre at hypersonic speeds unlocks a whole new regime. There are obvious military applications - missiles, drones, jets - and longer-term civilian ones, from faster travel to space planes with airport-like operations.

5/ Just as you need to build a single-use rocket before you get to a reusable one, we believe there are stepping stones where the technological readiness level is there.

6/ The first rung of that ladder is hypersonic missiles - and Hypersonica is best-placed to deliver this critical sovereign capability for Europe.

7/ The immediate value is deep strike: reaching targets faster, from further away, with a much higher chance of penetrating modern defences.

8/ If these systems can be produced at scale and at lower cost, the second-order effect is technoeconomic allowing militaries to substitute exquisite, expensive platforms with asymmetric capability, while enhancing deterrence.

9/ Hypersonics is unforgiving engineering. Dr Philipp Kerth and Dr Marc Ewenz have the qualities of the best founders: drive and intensity plus an obsessive focus on first-principles engineering, developed through a deep technical background in hypersonics at Oxford.

10/ They are among a very small group capable of doing this work properly - and it’s very clear that both are exceptionally serious about the responsibility they’re taking on.

11/ Hypersonic missiles aren’t the end goal - they’re the starting point. This is the first rung of a much longer ladder: the chance to rebuild European capability in a critical domain, and to create a new kind of defence and aerospace company with real depth over time.

12/ Great to work with @generalcatalyst, @SPRIND and @201vc_ on this.

@generalcatalyst @SPRIND @201vc_ 13/ You can learn more about why I invested in Hypersonica here: pluralplatform.com/features/why-w…

@generalcatalyst @SPRIND @201vc_ 14/ And @richardtyler’s coverage of the company and test flight in @thetimes: thetimes.com/business/entre…