A supersonic aircraft is able to fly faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1). Untill today, only two ever entered in service for civil use: the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144.
We just ended 2018 but the race to be the new Concorde doesn't take a rest. Many ambitious project from mainly European and American companies are developing a new suoersonic aircraft and some already begun first test session.
The first one is the Boom supersonic, the American company works on this supersonic aircraft. Japan Airlines and Boom are partner in this project. It will fly untill 2,2 mach (around 27000km/h), will be able to carry 55 passengers. They already received 76 preorders and maiden flight is planed for 2020.
Then the Spike which will be the quieter possible for a supersonic aircraft. It will "only" carry 22 passengers and will be able to fly until 1970km/h. The American company expect to make it fly in 2021 and be able to sell it in 2023. The main characteristic is its autonomous, it will fly more than 10.000 without a stop.
The business jet Aerion Supersonic is designed and will be produced by American companies: Aerio and Lockheed Martin. In May 2017, GE and Aerion became partners for the engine manufacturer to develop the business jet's engines. It will carry 12 passengers and will fly at a Max speed of 1,4 mach. The project should be ready for services for 2025.
Hypermach, which has launched a high speed business jet called the SonicStar, says owners will be able to get from New York to Sydney in five hours. With specific fuel consumption below 1.05 at long range cruise of Mach 3.1, made possible by the S-MAGJET hybrid gas turbine engine technology, SonicStar enables travel faster than ever before, turning the impossible into the possible. It’s visionary technology overcomes the economic and environmental challenges of supersonic flight to revolutionize travel and drive air transportation forward into the future.
The Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport (ZEHST) is a jet ailiner project by EADS and JAXA. It can be seen as a descendant of the Concorde airliner capable of flying at more than Mach 4. The aircraft is projected to carry 50 to 100 people 32 km above the ground. Zehst would be able to fly from Paris to Tokyo in 2.5 hours.
Which one will be the next supersonic jet ?
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