A supersonic jet, dubbed the ‘Son of the Concorde,’ has officially surpassed the speed of sound for the first time. The XB-1 demonstrator aircraft took off from the Mojave Air & Space Port in California at 11:22am ET on Tuesday, reaching an altitude of 35,000 feet and achieving a speed of 844 miles per hour—faster than the speed of sound, which is 761 miles per hour.
Aviation startup Boom said that the XB-1 is paving the way for the full production model, Overture, which will be able to transport passengers from New York City to London in just three hours and 30 minutes, instead of the traditional eight-hour flight.
Faster Than Sound
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Overture will span 199 feet and fly at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, with a range of 5,180 miles per hour. Boom has secured 130 pre-orders for the Overture, with American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines among the companies placing orders for fleets.
The NYC to London flights are expected to cost around $5,000 per passenger, which is a fraction of the $20,000 price tag for Concorde’s seats when adjusted for inflation today.
Boom is the first independent company to design, build, and fly a supersonic aircraft, marking the return of supersonic flight since the retirement of the Concorde in 2003.
The supersonic flight was led by Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg, a former U.S. Navy aviator and the chief pilot, who had already flown 11 previous missions.
The XB-1 reached a speed of Mach 1.1, exceeding the speed of sound, which is Mach 1. The jet is 71 feet long and has a single seat for the pilot. It took off near Edwards Air Force Base, the site where Chuck Yeager made history as the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947.
Big Boom in the Skies
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Blake Scholl, CEO and found of Boom, said: “Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947. I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide.”
Unlike Yeager, Boom’s XB-1 exceeded the speed of sound on two separate occasions during the same flight.
Previously, the XB-1’s top speed was Mach 0.95, or 728 miles per hour, which it reached during its last test flight on January 10.
The jet is equipped with high-resolution cameras in the nose to help pilots navigate at supersonic speeds, offering “enhanced runway visibility for landing,” according to the company.
Boom’s Overture, on the other hand, is designed to reach Mach 1.7 and can carry up to 80 passengers across the Atlantic.
The company had previously said that it would finalize Overture’s design after the demonstrator successfully broke the sound barrier. While Overture was originally scheduled for rollout in 2025, delays have pushed its launch date to 2027.
