XB-1 demonstrator breaks sound barrier during first 2025 flight
Independently developed jet makes new record, adding to its rigorous series of human-piloted test flights that will prepare its eventual successor, Overture.
Source | Boom Supersonic
On Jan. 28, (Denver, Colo., U.S.) achieved the successful first supersonic flight of its demonstrator aircraft at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. The aircraft, which climbed to an altitude of 35,290 feet before reaching a top speed of Mach 1.122 (750 miles per hour) also broke the sound barrier, and is considered the first independently developed supersonic jet to do so.
“A small band of talented and dedicated engineers has accomplished what previously took governments and billions of dollars,” says Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “Next, we are scaling up the technology on XB-1 for the Overture supersonic airliner. Our ultimate goal is to bring the benefits of supersonic flight to everyone.”
XB-1 incorporates many of the key features found on Overture, such as carbon fiber composites, digital stability augmentation and an augmented reality vision system for landing visibility.
Following its inaugural flight in March 2024, XB-1 completed a rigorous series of 11 human-piloted test flights under increasingly challenging conditions to evaluate systems and aerodynamics. Over the course of the flight test campaign, the XB-1 team systematically expanded the flight envelope through subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds — while taking smart risks and maintaining safety as top priority.
According to Boom Supersonic, Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners, on more than 600 global routes. Its bespoke propulsion system, Symphony, are designed to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airliner has an order book of 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines. In 2024, Boom completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which will scale to produce 66 Overture aircraft per year.