DENVER, September 12, 2023 — Boom Supersonic, the company building the world’s fastest airliner, today announced the launch of its Defense Advisory Group to assess Boom’s Overture aircraft for national security missions. The independent council brings together top military and defense experts to progress the development of defense variants of Overture. Overture is the sustainable supersonic aircraft that will fly at twice the speed of today’s airliners with a max range of 4,250 nautical miles, offering a unique combination of speed, payload, space and power. 

Boom named seven founding members ranging from retired General Officers to Department of Defense civilian senior executives with expertise in mobility operations, executive airlift, Air Force acquisitions, and research and development within the defense community. The Defense Advisory Group founding members include:

• General William M. Fraser III, USAF (Retired), former Commander of U.S. Transportation Command, Air Combat Command, and USAF Vice Chief of Staff
• General Raymond E. Johns, USAF (Retired), former Commander of U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command
• General Carlton (Dewey) Everhart II, USAF (Retired), former Commander of U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command
• Lieutenant General Ted Bowlds, USAF (Retired), former Commander Electronic Systems Command
• Mr. David E. Hamilton, Retired Senior Executive Service, former Director and Program Executive Officer for the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office
• Major General Lawrence M. Martin, Jr., USAF (Retired), former Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs
• Major General Kyle Kremer, USAF (Retired), former Director of Strategy, Plans, Requirements and Programs for Air Mobility Command

“The experienced leaders joining the Defense Advisory Group will guide us in optimizing our aircraft for government customers,” said Kathy Savitt, president of Boom Supersonic. “We know that we can deliver a valuable product to the Department of Defense with a specialized variant of Overture.”

Continuing Boom’s progress in the defense market and building upon their collaboration with leading global aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the Defense Advisory Group will identify the most valuable and critical use cases for supersonic transport. 

“Overture has great potential to provide value to the Department of Defense. The advisory group brings decades of experience to the table to discuss considerations that will enable applications to a broad spectrum of military missions,” said Retired General Raymond Johns. “I look forward to continued collaboration with Boom as we determine how to best optimize Overture to serve the unique needs of the United States government and our allies around the world.” 

In addition to the development of a special mission variant of Overture, Boom announced in July that it will support Northrop Grumman on a NASA contract to deliver solutions for the High-Speed Endo-atmospheric Commercial Vehicle Conceptual Design Study and Technology Roadmaps Development program. The study for future research and development will identify technologies to continue the advancement of commercial supersonic flight efficiency.

At the Paris Air Show in July, Boom announced Overture program advances including structural supplier agreements with Aernnova for Overture’s wings, Leonardo for the fuselage and wing box, and Aciturri for the empennage. Boom also shared several program milestones for Symphony™, the propulsion system for Overture, including an expansion of Boom’s partnership with Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), a business unit of Kratos, to assemble the initial production unit for ground test, flight test, and certification.

About Boom Supersonic

Boom Supersonic is transforming air travel with Overture, the world’s fastest airliner, optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability. Serving both civil and government markets, Overture will fly at twice the speed of today’s airliners and is designed to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company has secured SAF offtake agreements from Dimensional Energy and AIR COMPANY, bringing its total to 10 million gallons of SAF per year for Overture’s net zero carbon flight test program. Overture’s order book, including orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines stands at 130 aircraft. Boom is working with Northrop Grumman for government and defense applications of Overture. Suppliers and partners collaborating with Boom on the Overture program include Aernnova, Leonardo, Aciturri, Safran Landing Systems, Eaton, Collins Aerospace, and the United States Air Force.

Symphony™ is the propulsion system that will power Overture, a Boom-led collaboration with world-class partners including Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), a business unit of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., GE Additive and StandardAero. For more information, visit https://boomsupersonic.com. 

Photos and video available at https://boomsupersonic.com/newsroom/media-assets 

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Media Contact

Aubrey Scanlan for Boom Supersonic: press@boom.aero