XB-1 plane demonstrates supersonic speed with no audible sonic boom
NewsFebruary 13, 2025
DENVER, Colo. Boom Supersonic announced that it had achieved what it called "Boomless Cruise" with its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft, XB-1, as it strives to enable supersonic travel over land without an audible sonic boom.
According to a press release from Boom Supersonic, the XB-1 took its inital supersonic flight on January 28, 2025, breaking the sound barrier three times without generating a sonic boom that reached the ground, thereby demonstrating that quiet supersonic travel is possible.
Boom Supersonic's release described a well-established phenomenon in physics known as Mach cutoff, in which a sonic boom refracts in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground; the effect is achieved, said the company, by breaking the sound barrier at a high enough altitude, with exact speeds varying based on atmospheric conditions.
Specialized microphone arrays placed in strategic locations under the flight path confirmed that sonic booms did not reach the ground as XB-1 flew at a top speed of Mach 1.12, with the data collected during XB-1’s multiple supersonic runs enabling the aircraft maker to validate sonic-boom models and improve the algorithms that predict operating in Mach cutoff.
“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.”
Boom expects to produce thrust during fully-operational engine core tests for Symphony -- its purpose-built propulsion system -- by the end of 2025.
