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Boom Technology

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Boom Technology, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryAerospace industry
Founded2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
FoundersBlake Scholl
Joe Wilding
Josh Krall
HeadquartersCentennial Airport, Dove Valley, Colorado
Key people
  • Blake Scholl (CEO)
ProductsSupersonic aircraft design
Number of employees
150[1]
Websiteboomsupersonic.com

Boom Technology, Inc. (trade name Boom Supersonic) is an American company designing a supersonic airliner named the Overture.[2] The company is also flight-testing their one-third-scale demonstrator: the Boom XB-1 "Baby Boom".[3] On January 28, 2025, the company broke the sound barrier for the first time with its new XB-1 aircraft, after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port.[4]

History

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The company was founded in Denver in 2014.[5] It participated in a Y Combinator startup incubation program in early 2016, and has been funded by Y Combinator, Sam Altman, Seraph Group, Eight Partners, and others.[6]

In March 2017, $33 million were invested by several venture funds: Continuity Fund, RRE Ventures, Palm Drive Ventures, 8VC and Caffeinated Capital.[7] Boom secured $41 million of total financing by April 2017.[8] In December 2017, Japan Airlines invested $10 million, raising the company capital to $51 million: enough to build the XB-1 “Baby Boom” demonstrator and complete its testing, and to start early design work on the 55-seat airliner.[7] In January 2019, Boom raised a further $100 million, bringing the total to $151 million, then planning the demonstrator first flight for later in 2019.[9][10]

In January 2022, the company announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m2) manufacturing facility on a 65-acre (260,000 m2) site at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.[11]

In November 2023, a representative of the NEOM Investment Fund announced their investment in Boom at an undisclosed amount.[12] This follows an announcement by Boom of a "strategic investment" in the company from the fund.[13]

In November 2024, Boom Supersonic announced that the XB-1 had completed the eighth out of ten planned subsonic flights.[14] The XB-1 is considered a precursor to Boom's first supersonic commercial airliner.[15] The 64-seat aircraft, Overture, will be the first supersonic passenger jet since the British-French Concorde which was retired in 2003.[16]

Projects

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XB-1 "Baby Boom" demonstrator

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Main article: Boom XB-1

The Boom XB-1 "Baby Boom" is a one-third-scale supersonic demonstrator, designed to maintain Mach 2.2, with over 1,000 nautical miles [nmi] (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) of range, and powered by three General Electric J85-15 engines with 4,300 pounds-force [lbf] (19 kN) of thrust.[17] It was rolled out in October 2020.[18] It was expected to be flight tested in 2022,[19] but delays pushed the first flight test to March 22, 2024.[20] During the test flight, the aircraft reached speeds of up to 238 knots (441 km/h; 274 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 7,000 feet (2,100 m).[21] In the test flight on 13 December 2024, the aircraft reached speeds of up to 517 knots (957 km/h; 595 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 27,000 feet (8,200 m).[22]

In the test flight on 28 January 2025, the aircraft broke the sound barrier, reaching speeds up to 650 knots (1,200 km/h; 750 mph) and achieved an altitude of over 35,000 feet (11,000 m). [23]

Overture airliner

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Main article: Boom Overture

The Boom Overture is a proposed Mach 1.7 (1,000 kn; 1,800 km/h; 1,100 mph), 65- to 88-passenger supersonic transport with a planned 4,250 nmi (7,870 km; 4,890 mi) of range.[24] With 500 viable routes, Boom suggests there could be a market for 1,000 supersonic airliners with business class fares.[8] It had gathered 76 commitments by December 2017.[7] It decided to use the delta wing configuration of Concorde[25] and make use of composite materials.[7] It is to be powered by three 15,000–20,000 lbf (67–89 kN) dry turbofan engines.[7]

In January 2021, Boom announced plans to begin Overture test flights in 2026[26] and Boom CEO Blake Scholl "estimates that flights on Overture will be available in 2030."[27]

United Airlines announced in June 2021 that it had signed a deal to purchase 15 Boom Overture aircraft, with an option to buy 35 more.[28][29] American Airlines announced in August 2022 it had agreed to purchase 20 Boom Overture aircraft.[30]

Symphony engine

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Main article: Boom Symphony

In December 2022, Boom announced the Symphony, a new propulsion system to be designed for the Overture. Boom will work with three companies to develop Symphony: Florida Turbine Technologies for engine design, GE Additive for additive technology design consulting, and StandardAero for maintenance.[31]

Mach 4 airliner concept

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Boom Supersonic is participating in a NASA-led study to develop concept designs and technology roadmaps for a Mach 4 airliner. Boom is part of a team led by Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, alongside Blue Ridge Research and Consulting and Rolls-Royce North American Technologies.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Boom Supersonic". www.owler.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  2. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (2023-08-03). "Boom wants supersonic plane travel for everyone — but can it deliver?". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  3. ^ Rogoway, Joseph Trevithick, Thomas Newdick, Tyler (2020-10-07). "Boom Rolls Out Its XB-1 "Baby Boom" Supersonic Demonstrator Jet". The Drive. Retrieved 2023-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ O'Hare, Maureen (2025-01-28). "Boom: America's answer to Concorde prepares for first supersonic flight". CNN. Archived from the original on 2025-01-29. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  5. ^ Vance, Ashlee (21 March 2016). "This Aerospace Company Wants to Bring Supersonic Civilian Travel Back". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  6. ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (23 March 2016). "This Startup Is Developing Supersonic Planes for Virgin Group". Fortune. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e Stephen Trimble (5 Dec 2017). "JAL invests heavily in supersonic Boom". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b Aaron Karp (May 3, 2017). "Boom CEO sees market for 1,000 supersonic passenger jets by 2035". Air Transport World. Aviation Week. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Boom Supersonic Closes 100 Million Series B to Develop Overture, its Revolutionary Mach-2.2 Airliner" (PDF) (Press release). Boom Supersonic. 4 January 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  10. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy (Jan 4, 2019). "Boom Raises $100M To Develop A Supersonic Airliner. It's Going To Need A Whole Lot More". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Niles, Russ (31 January 2022). "Boom Picks Greensboro For Factory". AVweb. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Saudi Arabia invests in Supersonic Passenger Aircraft Industry | Mohammed AlQahtani posted on the topic | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  13. ^ "Boom - News - Boom Supersonic Announces New Aircraft, Engine, and Investment Milestones". Boom. 2023-11-09. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  14. ^ "Boom Supersonic accelerating toward Mach 1". Globalair.com. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  15. ^ O'Hare, Maureen (2025-01-28). "Boom: America's answer to Concorde prepares for first supersonic flight". CNN. Archived from the original on 2025-01-29. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  16. ^ published, Mike Wall (2025-01-28). "Boom Supersonic to break sound barrier during historic test flight today: Watch live". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  17. ^ Guy Norris (Jul 10, 2018). "Boom Focuses On Derivative Engines For Supersonic Airliner Plan". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  18. ^ "Boom Supersonic to Roll Out Historic XB-1 Demonstrator Oct. 7" (PDF) (Press release). Boom Supersonic. Jul 8, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Hemmerdinger, Jon (27 April 2021). "First flight of Boom's XB-1 demonstrator could happen next year". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  20. ^ Scholl, Blake (February 23, 2023). "How I Built This -Transcript" (Podcast). Event occurs at 29:06. Archived from the original on 2023-03-11. Retrieved March 11, 2023. " We're going to take it down to the Mojave Desert for flight test probably around the middle of this year."
  21. ^ "In a world first, Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet soars in test flight". The Times of India. 2024-04-08. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2024-06-23. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  22. ^ "XB-1 Flight 9". Boom Supersonic. 2024-12-13. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  23. ^ "Boom Achieves Supersonic Flight". Boom Supersonic. 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  24. ^ "Overture". Boom Supersonic. Archived from the original on July 23, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Bjorn Fehrm (November 17, 2016). "Will Boom succeed where Concorde failed?". Leeham News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  26. ^ Michael Verdon (January 14, 2021). "Supersonic Aircraft Can Now Be Tested Over Land, FAA Rules". Robb Report. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  27. ^ Hersey, Jon (October 7, 2020). "Reinventing Flight: An Interview with Blake Scholl". The Objective Standard. Vol. 15, no. 4. Glen Allen Press. p. 9. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  28. ^ Fox, Chris (June 5, 2021). "United plans supersonic passenger flights by 2029". BBC. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  29. ^ Bachman, Justin (Jun 3, 2021). "United Bets on Supersonic Future With $3 Billion Boom Jet Order". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  30. ^ LeBeau, Phil (2022-08-16). "American Airlines agrees to buy 20 supersonic planes from Boom". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  31. ^ Pegoraro, Rob (2022-12-13). "Boom Supersonic Finally Picks Engine Provider, and It's Not Who You Think". PCMAG. Archived from the original on 2024-09-14. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  32. ^ "Is a Mach 4 Passenger Jet Possible? NASA, Industry Explore Idea - NASA". NASA. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
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