Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 Test Demonstrator Becomes First Civil Aircraft in Two Decades to Go Supersonic
Boom’s XB-1 reached a speed of Mach 1.1 during its first supersonic test flight.
(Mojave, California) As Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft continues its test flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California – the livestream can be viewed on X here – the XB-1 has, as planned, successfully broken the sound barrier for the first time.
Photo of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 test demonstrator aircraft during today’s (Jan. 28) supersonic test flight via Boom Supersonic on X.
XB-1 successfully accelerated to Mach 1.1 (approximately 733.4 knots / nautical miles per hour, or 844 miles per hour / 1,358 kilometers per hour) after reaching target altitude. The supersonic threshold is Mach 1.
“Cheers,” said Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl in a post-flight toast with Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg upon landing. “To many Booms to come!”
Photo of Boom Supersonic’s Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg during XB-1’s Test Flight 11 on Jan. 10 courtesy of Boom Supersonic.
“Today’s the day that I’ve been looking forward to for more than a decade, and it makes me so proud, so proud of this team and this country,” Scholl continued. “America is the only place where a relatively small band of people just decide to do something and get it done – today, we did.”
“It’s time to bring supersonic back – for all of us – in a mainstream way,” Scholl said. “We’re not going to stop until everyone can benefit from this – let’s make America boom again!”
Boom’s XB-1 has completed 11 successful test flights since test flights began in March of 2024; the aircraft is the precursor to Boom’s planned supersonic commercial airliner, Overture.
Photo of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 during Test Flight 11 on Jan. 10 courtesy of Boom Supersonic.
Boom is planning for Overture to enter commercial service before the end of this decade, carrying 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7 (nearly twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners), per CNN Travel.
Overture currently has 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) and Japan Airlines (TYO: 9201), according to CNN Travel.
XB-1’s planned second supersonic test flight could happen as early as within the next week, according to the information provided on today’s livestream.
Notably, the Mojave Air and Spaceport – where today’s test flight took place – is where pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time in 1947.
As for historic supersonic milestones, the 002 prototype for the Concorde first flew at Mach 1 on March 25, 1970; it is now more than 21 years since commercial supersonic travel ended with the Anglo-French Concorde’s final flight in November 2003, per CNN Travel.
