Boom Supersonic has made a historic breakthrough: its test XB-1 has become the first aircraft from an independent manufacturer to break the supersonic barrier. The test flight took place today in the Mojave Desert, California.
The XB-1, which has already conducted 11 successful subsonic test flights since its first launch in March 2024, has reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.1 (1358 km/h).
The XB-1 was the first civilian supersonic aircraft built in the United States and the world's first independently developed supersonic aircraft. The event was broadcast live and opened a new chapter in aviation history.
The successful flight of the XB-1 took place almost 55 years after the Concorde prototype first reached supersonic speed and 21 years after the end of the era of commercial supersonic flight. The flight in the Mojave Desert, where the sound barrier was also first broken in 1947, is of historical significance.
Building on the success of the XB-1, Boom Supersonic plans to bring supersonic travel back with the Overture, which will be able to carry 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, twice the speed of today's subsonic airliners. The company plans to launch the Overture by the end of the decade, offering routes around the world. The aircraft has already received 130 orders and pre-orders from leading airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.