FAA Rules for Supersonic Jet Flight Testing in the US

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently published updated regulations designed to facilitate the return of commercial supersonic air travel. These new guidelines from the U.S. airspace authority offer direction to companies seeking authorization to conduct flight tests with supersonic aircraft currently in development, encompassing innovative companies such as Boom Supersonic, which has recently finished building its scaled-down supersonic demonstration aircraft and anticipates initiating flight trials this year.

Boom, currently securing a $50 million investment and having already accumulated approximately $150 million through previous funding rounds, unveiled its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator jet in October. While this test plane is smaller than the planned final version of its Overture passenger supersonic airliner, it will serve to validate the core technologies necessary for the construction of Overture, which the company aims to launch in 2025 in collaboration with airline companies.

Additional companies, like Hermeus, are also dedicated to developing supersonic flight for commercial applications. Simultaneously, spaceflight-oriented organizations such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic are investigating not only supersonic travel but also the potential of point-to-point flights that incorporate portions of the journey at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, potentially shortening flight durations significantly and transforming lengthy international flights into shorter, more localized routes.

The FAA’s completion of these rules occurred just before the change in administration, as current U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao prepares to be succeeded by President Biden’s nominee, Pete Buttigieg. The complete FAA final rule can be viewed in the embedded document below.

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