Boom Supersonic has second supersonic flight Monday, announces ‘Boomless Cruise’

MOJAVE, Calif. (WGHP) — Boom Supersonic broke the sound barrier again Monday, after a successful flight last month.

On Feb. 10, Boom Supersonic performed another supersonic flight with its “demonstrator aircraft,” the XB-1. On Jan. 28, they performed a successful supersonic test flight, but it was noticeable boom-less.

“During its historic first supersonic flight on January 28, 2025, Boom’s demonstrator aircraft, XB-1, broke the sound barrier three times without generating a sonic boom that reached the ground, demonstrating that quiet supersonic travel is possible,” the Boom Supersonic press release reads.

This test flight paved the way for what the company calls the “Boomless Cruise,” stating that their supersonic passenger jet, Overture, will use this feature in order to reach supersonic speeds quietly.

“Boomless Cruise is based on well-established physics known as Mach cutoff, in which a sonic boom refracts in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground,” Boom explained. “This effect is achieved by breaking the sound barrier at a high enough altitude, with exact speeds varying based on atmospheric conditions.”

“XB-1 broke the sound barrier three times during its first supersonic flight—without an audible boom,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “This confirms what we’ve long believed: supersonic travel can be affordable, sustainable, and friendly to those onboard and on the ground. With this success, we’re bringing Boomless Cruise to Overture, unlocking faster travel on even more routes.”

Previous tests

Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, chief test pilot for Boom Supersonic, said of the first test flight, “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. 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.”

The XB-1 aircraft, described by Boom as “the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet,” completed 11 successful test flights at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California before going for Mach 1 on Tuesday.

Its first successful flight, which happened on March 22, 2024, hit 264 knots true airspeed and reached 7,120 feet. During its last flight, on Jan. 10, XB-1 hit a speed of Mach 0.95, 572 knots TAS, with a peak altitude of 29,481 feet.

“During the 44-minute flight, Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg took XB-1 to an altitude of 29,481 feet,” Boom Supersonic said in its ongoing XB-1 blog. “Flight 11 again reached a transonic top speed of Mach 0.95, faster than the cruising speed of today’s airliners. An aircraft flies transonic when it reaches the range of speeds just below supersonic, which is Mach 1.”

Just over two weeks after that near-supersonic flight, Boom took off for its 12th flight and finally broke the sound barrier at Mach 1.

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Boom Supersonic

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Each successful flight has put Boom another step closer to creating its carbon-neutral commercial jet in the Piedmont Triad, the planned Overture aircraft.

Overture

With XB-1, Boom aims to prove that independently-built supersonic flight is possible and to test specifics related to Overture, such as technology and safety protocols, according to Boom spokesperson Aubrey Scanlan.

Overture will be roughly three times the size of XB-1, and it’s planned to carry 64-80 passengers on intercontinental flights at speeds of up to about Mach 1.7 (or 1,304.36 miles per hour). That is about twice as fast as a Boeing 747. All of that while using non-petroleum sustainable fuel. Already the company has 130 orders in for the future jet, as well as pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.

Boom is in the process of building a factory in Greensboro where it plans to build the passenger jet that will fly faster than the speed of sound.

The factory is set to add $32 billion to the North Carolina state economy over the next 20 years along with more than 2,400 jobs.

Plans call for the assembly line to be in operation later next year. The first jet could take flight in 2026. The company hopes flights should be ready for passengers by 2029.

About Boom

Boom is investing about $500 million to build Overture in Greensboro and, in January 2023, signed a lease and broke ground on a 62-acre site where its so-called “Superfactory” is well under construction. The company, which plans to employ more than 1,700, also has an option for a second parcel.

Boom plans to have its first passengers in the air by 2029 and will fly more than 600 “profitable routes” to destinations around the world, with a range of 4,250 nautical miles.

Boom has taken on three partners to design and build the engine it calls “Symphony,” which will power the Overture, and now has partnerships with companies to provide the wings, the fuselage and the tail assembly.

Another partner, Dimensional Energy, is to provide “sustainable aviation fuel,” which is described by the U.S. Department of Energy as being made from “renewable biomass and waste resources,” which could be corn, algae or wood products.

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