Boom Supersonic has revealed the refined design of the Overture and also announced a new partnering agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop special mission variants of the aircraft. Carrying 65–80 passengers at twice the speed of today’s airliners and running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the Overture will fly Mach 1.7 over water with a range of 4,250 nautical miles. For comparison, that is almost as fast as the Concorde was flying. CEO Blake Scholl said “Aviation has not seen a giant leap in decades. Overture is revolutionary in its design, and it will fundamentally change how we think about distance. With more than 600 routes across the globe, Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible for tens of millions of passengers.”
The rollout of the Overture is expected for 2025 with the first flight scheduled for 2026. Regular passenger flights are currently expected to begin in 2029. So it will still be a while before we get to enjoy this revolutionary aircraft. The Overture is not only much quicker than other commercial aircrafts but it also will be quieter. On take-off, Overture will use the world’s first automated noise reduction system. The airliner will fly without afterburners, meeting the same strict regulatory noise levels as the latest subsonic airplanes. These noise reduction efforts will deliver a quieter experience both for passengers and airport communities.
There are also a number of other engineering features that make the Overture special. The aircraft’s wings are sculpted to enhance supersonic performance as well as improve subsonic and transonic handling. Importantly, the wing shaping also helps ensure safety and stability at any speed. Overture will incorporate carbon composite materials into the majority of the build that are lighter, stronger, and more thermally stable than traditional metal construction. Carbon composites can also be manufactured with highly complex curvature, contributing to the aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft has been developed from the beginning to be net zero carbon, flying on 100% SAF. Sustainability is woven into all aspects of Overture, from design and production to flight and end-of-life recycling.
Images courtesy of Boom
