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Boom Technology
American startup supersonic aircraft company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Boom Technology, Inc. (trade name Boom Supersonic) is an American company developing the Overture, a supersonic airliner. It has also flight tested a one-third-scale demonstrator, the Boom XB-1, which broke the sound barrier for the first time on January 28, 2025, during a flight from the Mojave Air and Space Port.[3][4][5][1]
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The company was founded in Denver in 2014.[6] It participated in a Y Combinator startup incubation program in early 2016, and has been funded by Y Combinator, Sam Altman, Paul Graham, Alex Gerko, Michael Moritz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Seraph Group, and others.[7][8]
In March 2017, $33 million was invested by several venture funds: Continuity Fund, RRE Ventures, Palm Drive Ventures, 8VC and Caffeinated Capital.[9] Boom secured $43 million of total financing by April 2017.[10] In 2017, Japan Airlines invested $10 million, as part of a Series B fundraising round that brought the company capital to $156 million by 2020: enough to build the XB-1 demonstrator and complete its testing, and to start early design work on the 60-80-seat airliner.[9][11] As of 2025, the company has raised over $600 million in investor funding.[12]
In January 2022, the company announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m2) manufacturing facility on a 65-acre (260,000 m2) site at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.[13] Construction on the facility, named the Overture Superfactory, was completed in June 2024.[14]
In November 2023, a representative of the NEOM Investment Fund announced their investment in Boom at an undisclosed amount.[15] This follows an announcement by Boom of a "strategic investment" in the company from the fund.[16]
If completed, the 60- to 80-seat aircraft, Overture, would be the first supersonic passenger jet since the British-French Concorde which was retired in 2003.[17][1]
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XB-1 demonstrator
The Boom XB-1 is a one-third-scale supersonic demonstrator, designed to fly up to Mach 1.3, and powered by three General Electric J85-15 engines with a total of 12,900 pounds-force [lbf] (57 kN) of thrust.[18] It was rolled out in October 2020.[19] It was expected to be flight tested in 2022,[20] but delays pushed the first flight test to March 22, 2024.[21] During the first test flight, the aircraft reached speeds of up to 264 knots (489 km/h; 304 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 7,000 feet (2,100 m).[22] In the ninth test flight on 13 December 2024, the aircraft reached speeds of up to Mach 0.87 or 517 knots (957 km/h; 595 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 27,000 feet (8,200 m).[23]
During the twelfth test flight on 28 January 2025, the aircraft broke the sound barrier three times, reaching speeds up to Mach 1.122, or approximately 650 knots (1,200 km/h; 750 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 35,000 feet (11,000 m).[24] The aircraft became the first privately funded aircraft to break the sound barrier, reaching a speed of Mach 1.122.[25] The company said XB-1 achieved supersonic flight without generating an audible sonic boom that reached the ground after refining its sonic boom models and improving algorithms for predicting Mach cutoff conditions.[26][27] XB-1’s final flight on 10 February 2025 consisted of three more supersonic runs, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.18, or 671 knots (1,243 km/h; 772 mph) and an altitude of over 36,000 feet (11,000 m). During this flight, Boom partnered with NASA to capture a Schlieren image showing the shock waves resulting from XB-1 pushing through the air at supersonic speeds.[28]
Overture airliner
The Boom Overture is a proposed supersonic transport designed to achieve an airspeed of Mach 1.7 (1,000 kn; 1,800 km/h; 1,100 mph), accommodate 60 to 80 passengers and a planned range of 4,250 nmi (7,870 km; 4,890 mi).[29] Boom said there could be a market for over 1,000 supersonic airliners, and suggests airlines could charge business or first class fares.[10] It decided to use the delta wing configuration of Concorde[30] and make use of composite materials.[9] It is to be powered by four 40,000 pounds-force [lbf] (180 kN) medium bypass turbofan engines.[31]
In January 2021, Boom announced plans to begin Overture test flights in 2027[32] and Boom CEO Blake Scholl "estimates that flights on Overture will be available in 2030."[33]
United Airlines announced in June 2021 that it had signed a deal to purchase 15 Boom Overture aircraft, with an option to buy 35 more.[34][35] American Airlines announced in August 2022 it had agreed to purchase 20 Boom Overture aircraft.[36] Boom’s orders and pre-orders total 130 aircraft from airlines including United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.
Symphony engine
In December 2022, Boom announced the Symphony, a new propulsion system to be designed for the Overture. Boom will work with three companies to develop Symphony: Florida Turbine Technologies for engine design, Colibrium Additive for additive technology design consulting, and StandardAero for maintenance.[37] In April 2025, Boom acquired a former Reaction Engines hypersonic test facility at Colorado Air and Space Port, to serve as the dedicated test site for the Symphony engine.[38]
Mach 4 airliner concept
Boom Supersonic participated in a NASA-led study to develop concept designs and technology roadmaps for a Mach 4 airliner. Boom was part of a team led by Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, alongside Blue Ridge Research and Consulting and Rolls-Royce North American Technologies.[39]
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