When Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 jet lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in January it became the first privately developed aircraft to break the sound barrier, and did it three times without a sonic boom reaching the ground.
If you’ve ever heard a sonic boom, you know how jarring it can be. One echoed over the D.C. area in 2023, and many feared the worst. That kind of disruption is one of the biggest obstacles to commercial supersonic flight.
But Boom’s test flight proved that concern outdated. In February, the company introduced its Boomless Cruise technology, which uses a principle called Mach cutoff — a well-established atmospheric phenomenon where the sonic boom refracts upward and never reaches the ground.
This breakthrough brings the promise of practical supersonic travel closer to reality. Imagine flying from New York to London in just 3.5 hours instead of six.
Still, outdated regulations stand in the way. Since 1973, U.S. rules have prohibited civil aircraft from flying faster than Mach 1 over land. That restriction, meant to prevent disruptive booms, effectively bans supersonic commercial travel in U.S. airspace.
That could soon change. This morning, Rep. Troy Nehls and Sen. Ted Budd introduced the Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act, which directs the FAA to update regulations and allow supersonic flights — as long as no audible boom reaches the ground.
Commercial aviation has seen few innovations from the Concorde’s retirement in 2003 until 2016 — when then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy objected to a Senate proposal that did not fund NASA’s X-59 QueSST (Quiet Supersonic Technology).
Since then, the technology has continued to advance and with Boom’s latest demonstrations, we are now on the precipice of remarkable aviation innovation. Now, it’s time for the government to catch up.
