Military

Military variants of a civilian supersonic airliner already on the cards

Military variants of a civilian supersonic airliner already on the cards
Artist's rendering of the Overture supersonic airliner
Artist's rendering of the Overture supersonic airliner
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Tom Jones, left, president for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, and Blake Scholl, right, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boom Supersonic
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Tom Jones, left, president for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, and Blake Scholl, right, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boom Supersonic
Artist's rendering of the Overture supersonic airliner
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Artist's rendering of the Overture supersonic airliner

The first of the next generation of civilian supersonic flight is yet to arrive, but military variants are already being considered. Northrop Grumman and Boom Supersonic signed an agreement at the Farnborough International Air Show to develop special quick-reaction mission variants of Boom’s Overture supersonic aircraft.

When the last Concorde supersonic passenger liner made its final flight in 2003, the aerospace sector flew into a technological hiatus not seen since the end of the Apollo missions. As the Anglo-French aircraft touched the tarmac for the last time, the world lost an entire class of capability, which was the ability to fly passengers and cargo in sustained flight across intercontinental distances at well over the speed of sound.

There were many reasons this happened, but a generation later civilian supersonic flight is coming back as more economical designs jump off the drawing boards to the production floor with new fuselage and wing technologies that will minimize the infamous sonic boom.

One of the contenders in this race is Boom Supersonics, which is working on its 200-ft (71-m) long Overture supersonic liner capable of carrying up to 80 passengers at speeds of Mach 1.7 over water and Mach 0.94 over land. That supersonic cruise speed would be twice as fast as conventional airliners, allowing for flights of four and a half hours from Tokyo to Seattle.

Tom Jones, left, president for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, and Blake Scholl, right, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boom Supersonic
Tom Jones, left, president for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, and Blake Scholl, right, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boom Supersonic

The Overture is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2026 and enter into service by 2029, but the new agreement with Northrop Grumman indicates that the US military and allied nations are interested in new variants suitable for rapid response missions for the military and government. Such crossovers between military and civilian aircraft are common arrangements that go back decades.

Because the ink on the agreement isn't even dry, details on the collaboration are still scarce on the ground, but the new variants could be used for missions to transport troops, deliver medical supplies, carry out medical evacuations, and for reconnaissance missions to monitor large areas.

"Pairing Northrop Grumman’s airborne defense systems integration expertise with Boom’s advanced Overture supersonic aircraft demonstrates the power of collaborations like this for the benefit of our customers," said Tom Jones, president, Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. "Together we can ensure our military customers have variants of Overture for missions where advanced system capabilities and speed are critical."

Source: Northrop Grumman

2 comments
2 comments
Dark Dove
I'm glad to see the military, their contractors or Nasa investing or ordering some Boom aircraft to help speed this tech through a private company. Boom could be the next Space X - affordable fast transportation for those that need it. Maybe, Fed Ex same day world wide delivery?!
ReservoirPup
The faster you move, the more pollution you create. Until there’s a universal carbon tax, such nonsense as civilian supersonic flight will make venture capitalists and plutocrats excited. Military must hurry up if they want to really piggyback on this.