U.S. Air Force, Boom Partner On Overture Supersonic Airliner

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to Boom Supersonic aimed at accelerating research and development for the company’s Overture supersonic airliner model. Granted through the AFVentures arm of the Air Force’s AFWERX program, the Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract covers three years and is valued at up to $60 million. The Air Force also awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 contract to Boom in September 2020.

“We are proud of the Air Force’s continued support and recognition of Boom’s leadership in supersonic flight—and we see our partnership as mutually beneficial,” said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “With STRATFI, we’re able to collaborate with the Air Force on the unique requirements and needs for global military missions, ultimately allowing Boom to better satisfy the needs of the Air Force where it uses commercially-derived aircraft.”

According to Boom, its Overture supersonic airliner is designed to seat between 65 and 88 passengers, travel at Mach 1.7 and have a range of 4,250 NM. Boom is targeting 2025 for its rollout of the Overture with entry-into-service planned “by the end of the decade.” As previously reported by AVweb, Boom rolled out its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator, which was constructed to demonstrate key technologies for the Overture, in October 2020.