Boom Achieves Supersonic Flight
The successful first supersonic flight of Boom’s demonstrator aircraft, XB-1, took place on January 28 2025 at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. Boom designed, built, and flew the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet—the first civil supersonic jet made in America.
Flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, XB-1 entered the supersonic corridor and reached an altitude of 35,290 feet before accelerating to Mach 1.122 (652 KTAS or 750 mph)—breaking the sound barrier for the first time. Historically, supersonic aircraft have been the work of nation states, developed by militaries and governments. XB-1’s supersonic flight marks the first time an independently developed jet has broken the sound barrier.
“XB-1’s supersonic flight demonstrates that the technology for passenger supersonic flight has arrived,” said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “A small band of talented and dedicated engineers has accomplished what previously took governments and billions of dollars. 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.”
The first supersonic jet built from airliner technology, 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.
“It has been a privilege and a highlight of my career to be a part of the team that achieved this milestone—every single member of this team was critical to our success,” said Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, Chief Test Pilot for Boom Supersonic. “Our discipline and methodical approach to this flight test program created the safety culture that made a safe and successful first supersonic flight possible. With the lessons learned from XB-1, we can continue to build the future of supersonic travel.”
XB-1 provides the foundation for Overture, validating key technologies while establishing a safety-first culture. Technologies proven through XB-1’s test program that will also apply to Overture include:
- Augmented reality vision system: XB-1 and Overture both have a long nose and a high angle of attack for takeoff and landing, which makes it difficult for pilots to see the runway in front of them. Both aircraft leverage an augmented reality vision system to enable excellent runway visibility—without the weight and complexity of a moveable nose like Concorde’s.
- Digitally-optimized aerodynamics: Engineers used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to explore thousands of designs for XB-1. The result is an optimized design that combines safe and stable operation at takeoff and landing with efficiency at supersonic speeds. CFD is also used extensively in the Overture program.
- Carbon fiber composites: Both XB-1 and Overture are almost entirely made from carbon fiber composite materials, resulting in a sophisticated aerodynamic design with a strong, lightweight structure.
- Supersonic intakes: XB-1’s engine intakes slow supersonic air to subsonic speeds, efficiently converting kinetic energy into pressure energy, allowing conventional jet engines to power XB-1 from takeoff through supersonic flight. Learnings from the development of XB-1’s specialized intakes are being applied to Overture and its purpose-built turbofan engine, Symphony.
XB-1’s supersonic flight took place in the same historic airspace where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time in 1947, among many other historic firsts. The first supersonic flight of XB-1 marks the first human-piloted civil supersonic flight since Concorde’s retirement over 20 years ago, paving the way for the return of commercial supersonic flight onboard Overture.
Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners, on over 600 global routes.
“I’ve been waiting over 20 years for the return of supersonic speeds, and XB-1’s historic flight is a major landmark towards my dreams being realized.,” said Mike Bannister, former Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways. “When I last flew Concorde in 2003, I knew this day would come. Boom is well on its way towards making sustainable supersonic flight a reality, aboard Overture—my #1 choice as a successor to Concorde. Congratulations to Blake Scholl, all at Boom and especially its pilot, Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg. Having been Concorde’s Chief Pilot I envy his role in this exciting return towards mainstream supersonic flight.”
Overture 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. Optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability, Overture and its bespoke propulsion system, Symphony, are designed to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
“Congratulations to Boom Supersonic on the groundbreaking achievement of its first supersonic flight,” said Jim Currier, President and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. “For generations, Honeywell has supported aircraft programs that build a brighter future for aviation, and we’re proud that our Honeywell Anthem integrated flight deck will help do exactly that for Boom’s Overture aircraft. We look forward to continuing our work with Boom to bring to life state-of-the-art technologies that reduce pilot workload and increase safety.”
“Beginning in 1905, the National Aeronautic Association recognized aviation’s most historic events, including breaking the sound barrier in 1947 and the moon landing in 1969. XB-1 has continued to prove that Blake’s dream is in line with the achievements that have come before,” said Amy Marino Spowart, President and CEO of the National Aeronautic Association. “This flight is a testament to dreaming and doing, which is the heart of the legendary feats of aviation that have got us to this day. The future of aviation is here and now. Not only is there hope for faster and better commercial flight, but Boom proves that it can be done sustainably.”
