Aircraft manufacturers are making giant leaps in the supersonic and hypersonic realm. Supersonic jet travel is only a memory since the Concorde’s retirement decades ago. That is beginning to rapidly change thanks to a handful of private aerospace firms looking to enter into the civilian and military markets. Let’s dive into some of the latest developments in today’s supersonic and hypersonic aircraft being produced.
Supersonic Aircraft
Boom Supersonic
Supersonic passenger travel is seeing a revival thanks to startup manufacturer Boom Supersonic. The American manufacturer is developing the 64 -80 seat Boom Overture. The aircraft will be capable of cruising comfortably at Mach 1.7 connecting city pairs like New York to Frankfurt, New York to London and Los Angles to Tokyo. Currently launch customers include American Airlines, Japan Airlines and United Airlines. Northrop Grumman is researching the feasibility of using the aircraft as a rapid cargo transport for the military. As the aircraft enters the research and development stage, Boom is testing components like fiber composites, advanced avionics, digitally-optimized aerodynamics, and supersonic propulsion systems using a smaller platform, the XB-1. On March 22, 2024 the XB-1 successfully flew its first flight at Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.
NASA & Lockheed Martin Skunkworks
Lockheed Martin’s secretive Skunk Works division in partnership with NASA officially unveiled the X-59 Supersonic X-Plane on January 12, 2024. The sleek aircraft is 100 feet long, has a wingspan of 29.5 feet and cruises at Mach 1.4 or 925 mph. It will cruise at an approximate altitude of 55,000 feet. Once initial testing is complete, the aircraft will be used by NASA to gather data on sonic boom noise over populated areas. The data from X-59 flights will be used to aid federal regulators in implementing new governance for supersonic aircraft.
Hypersonic Aircraft
Hermeus
Aerospace and defense firm Hermeus is aiming to develop hypersonic aircraft for the military and eventually passenger use. Their primary hypersonic aircraft the Darkhorse, will be a multi mission capable UAS (uncrewed aerial system) with a proposed cruising speed of Mach 5, five times the speed of sound! On November of 2023, Hermeus was awarded a contract by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to utilize commercial flight test capabilities and to expand the Department of Defense’s high-speed flight test capacity. To test the these capabilities Hermeus is developing the Quarterhorse Mk 1, a remotely piloted aircraft that will perform high speed takeoffs and landings at Edwards Air Force Base in the coming years.
Stratolaunch
Aerospace firm Stratolaunch also looks to make an entry into the hypersonic aircraft market. Currently Stratolaunch is working on developing the Talon-A TA-1 reusable hypersonic aircraft. Unlike other aircraft that takeoff from a runway or launch pad, the TA-1 is carried by a behemoth 6 engine transport aircraft called the Roc. At altitude the Roc releases the TA-1 where it then fires its own engines and continues to high Mach speeds and altitudes. On March 9,2024 Stratolaunch successfully completed the first powered flight of the TA-1. It met the primary objectives of completing an air-launch release of the TA-1 vehicle, engine ignition, acceleration, sustained climb in altitude, and a controlled water landing.
