Fighter-jet manufacturer Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is going commercial, partnering with privately held Aerion to develop what would be the world's first supersonic business jet.
The two companies, working with the jet engine division of General Electric, said that over the next year they hope to finalize plans for the engineering, certification, and eventual production of the jet. They hope to combine the engineering and specialty-materials expertise Lockheed Martin has developed as the manufacturer of the F-35 and F-22 with Aerion's work on flying faster than the speed of sound to come up with a viable economic model.
A rendering of the Aerion AS2 in flight over New York City. Image source: Aerion.
Silencing the boom
There are still a number of hurdles to be worked out.
One major reason there hasn't been commercial supersonic transport since the Concorde was retired, in 2003, is the loud "boom" that bellows out as the waves of pressure created by the movement of the aircraft are compressed and form a shock wave. The Federal Aviation Administration in the early 1970s banned supersonic travel over the United States to avoid subjecting citizens to sonic booms and broken windows, greatly reducing the usefulness and the available range when traveling fast.
There is also added cost in terms of design, materials, and fuel consumption required to create and operate a plane capable of flying at supersonic speeds, and a limited usefulness on trips that span hundreds of miles instead of thousands. It's unclear how big the market would be for a premium-priced business jet whose major selling point, the ability to go faster, is of minimal added value for average-length trips.
Not your father's supersonic aircraft
Aerion claims that its jet, the AS2, uses advances in aerodynamics and structural design that should address some of the cost issues and greatly reduce the sonic boom. The Reno-based company, which was formed in 2003 to acquire a team that had been working on supersonic flight, has been refining and working to commercialize the technology for more than a decade.
The key to the company's design is what it calls supersonic natural laminar flow, a wing design that uses precision manufacturing and carbon fiber materials to allow air to flow smoothly across wing surfaces without creating turbulent layers. The company says the design reduces total airframe drag by as much as 20% compared to the delta wing configuration used by the Concorde.
Aerion argues that the design allows its plane to use less fuel at both supersonic and subsonic speeds, making it efficient even when over land. The design also greatly reduces the sonic boom. Aerion has more than 40 patents related to the plane and its design, and says it sees a global market for upward of 400 aircraft during the first 15 years of service.