Modern-Aviation

Boom Supersonic, the company behind the new faster-than-sound jets, said its Overture aircraft has completed wind tunnel testing and secured suppliers for gear and control systems.

On Tuesday, the company also unveiled a deal with US defence contractor Northrop Grumman to develop a military version of the plane.

“Overture is revolutionary in its design, and it will fundamentally change how we think about distance,” said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible for tens of millions of passengers.”

The planned jet will carry 65-80 passengers at speeds twice those of conventional craft. It will reach a speed of Mach 1.7 over water, or about 1,300 miles per hour, and at Mach 0.95 over towns and cities.

Seventy have already been pre-sold and Boom wants to start production in 2024, with the first commercial flights by 2026.

The planes have been nicknamed “son of Concorde” after the last supersonic passenger jet. The Anglo-French project was shelved after a fatal crash at Charles de Gaulle airport in July 2000.

Boom’s Overture project is a bold one. Supersonic travel is inefficient compared to subsonic flight because of the extra fuel needed for higher speeds. It is a tough sell at a time when the industry is going to great lengths to lower emissions.

Boom says it will use so-called sustainable aviation fuel to limit its carbon output.

Last year, America’s United Airlines placed an order for 15 of the jets, with the option to top the order up. Japan Airlines has also ordered some of the jets.

Rolls-Royce aircraft engine hydrogen EasyJet - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP© Provided by The Telegraph Rolls-Royce aircraft engine hydrogen EasyJet - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP
Separately, engine maker Rolls-Royce on Tuesday signed a deal with low-cost airline EasyJet to develop hydrogen engines for its fleet, with ground tests planned for later this year.

The move could see the re-entry of Rolls-Royce into the market for smaller aircraft engines, so-called narrowbody planes, which typically ferry passengers round Europe. Rolls-Royce has spent many years specialising in larger engines for planes which make transatlantic trips.

EasyJet and Rolls-Royce said passengers would be travelling on hydrogen-powered aircraft from the mid-2030s onwards.

Derby-based engine maker Rolls signed a similar deal earlier in the week with South Korean car maker Hyundai to develop technology for air taxis.

While the civil part of the business is enduring a slow return to air travel and the challenge of switching its fuels to greener alternatives, its defence business is in the middle of “a decade of growth”, according to Tom Bell, president of Rolls-Royce defence.

The company is investing in small nuclear power plants for the military to supply power on the front lines of conflicts and also for the space industry.

The power plants could serve the electricity needs of forward bases with 1-5 megawatts being supplied from portable plants that use very small amounts of fuel, contained within a space the size of about four 40-foot shipping containers.

“It's not just decarbonisation, it’s military resilience; a military logistician's number one concern is resilience and fossil fuel supply chain is a huge vulnerability of any military,” Mr Bell said.