Boom Supersonic announced on Thursday that they will collaborate with powerplant manufacturer Rolls-Royce for the engine program design for their Overture supersonic commercial passenger aircraft.
Since the retirement of Concorde in 2003, supersonic commercial flight has once again become a dream. However, Boom Supersonic will reach a milestone on October 7, 2020 as they launch their supersonic XB-1 demonstrator, bringing us one step closer to supersonic commercial flight. On Thursday (July 30, 2020), the company announced that they will collaborate with Rolls-Royce for the supersonic Overture’s propulsion system. Overture is the company’s full-size commercial airliner concept which is scheduled to begin flight testing by the mid-2020’s and enter passenger service by 2030. The goal of the collaboration with Rolls-Royce is to identify the appropriate propulsion system that would complement Boom Overture’s airframe and determine whether an existing engine architecture can de adapted for supersonic flight. In Thursday’s announcement, Boom Supersonic’s Founder and CEO, Blake Scholl said,
“We’ve had a series of valuable collaborations and co-locations with Rolls-Royce over the past years to lay the groundwork for this next phase of development. We look forward to building on the progress and rapport that we’ve already built with our collaboration as we work to refine Overture’s design and bring sustainable supersonic transport to passenger travel.”
The collaboration will be informed by Boom and Rolls Royce’s shared commitment to a net-zero carbon future. Also commenting on Thursday’s announcement, Rolls-Royce’s Director of Strategy, Simon Carlisle added,
“We share a strong interest in supersonic flight and in sustainability strategies for aviation with Boom. We’re now building on our valuable experience in this space as well as our previous work together to further match and refine our engine technology for Boom’s Overture.”
As previously mentioned, the company’s one-third scale XB-1 demonstrator will be rolled out on October 7, 2020 and begin flight testing in 2021. The XB-1 will be powered by three General Electric J85-15 engines.
Source: Boom Supersonic