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The Boom Overture jet is vying to become the first supersonic Air Force One — here's an early look
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The Boom Overture jet is vying to become the first supersonic Air Force One — here's an early look

Aerospace startup Boom Supersonic won a contract to develop a supersonic jet for US government executive transport, potentially as Air Force One.

International

Aerospace company Boom Supersonic this week announced a contract with the US Air Force to develop a supersonic plane for transporting diplomats and high-ranking government officials.

The contract will fund research into building new, mission-appropriate configurations of its conceptual supersonic passenger plane, called Overture.

Boom has designed the Overture, which is still in development, as a single-aisle business class plane, with seats laid out in a 1-1 configuration. With the new funding from the Air Force, Boom plans to explore ways to customize the plane — both inside and out — for government work.

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"By cutting travel times we make it possible for US diplomats and executive leaders to connect more frequently in person, meeting challenges and defusing potential crises with a personal touch," Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl said in a press release.

"We are extremely excited to team with [Boom] as we work to shrink the world and transform the future of executive airlift," Brigadier General Ryan Britton, who directs the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, added.

Boom plans to introduce a demonstrator airplane, XB-1, later this year, with flight tests beginning in 2021. Once the technology and engineering is proven safe and efficient, the company said it will begin test flights with the larger Overture airliner. Those flights are expected to begin in 2025, with final certification of the plane targeted for 2029.