Boom supersonic jet breaks sound barrier in historic test flight

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 made its first supersonic flight on 28 January 2025, in Mojave, California.

A test flight by Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator jet has broken the sound barrier, marking the first time a passenger aircraft has done so since the retirement of Concorde. The flight took place in Mojave, California, where the aircraft reached a speed of Mach 1.122, or approximately 1,207 kilometers per hour, at an altitude of 10,668 meters, according to CNN.

The XB-1, flown by Boom’s chief test pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, achieved supersonic speed about 12 minutes into the flight which is a step toward the development of Boom’s commercial supersonic airliner, Overture. The company has completed 12 successful test flights since the XB-1’s first takeoff in March 2024.

Boom Supersonic wants to bring back commercial supersonic travel within the next decade. However, experts, including Jock Lowe, the longest-serving Concorde pilot, caution that significant challenges remain before supersonic passenger travel can become commercially viable.

“There are a lot of hurdles,” Lowe said, referencing regulatory, environmental, and economic barriers to widespread supersonic travel.

 

The flight took place in the same historic airspace where Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947. Boom’s achievement also makes the XB-1 the first independently developed jet to reach supersonic speeds.

Boom Supersonic’s Overture, the company’s planned commercial airliner, aims to fly at Mach 1.7 and cut transatlantic travel times in half. The company hopes to launch passenger services within the next decade.