I always wanted to fly on the Concorde and never got a chance. Today, the XB-1 made the first commercial supersonic flight since the legendary Anglo-French jet last hit Mach 1—and the first ever for a privately-built civil aircraft (at least intentionally). It broke the sound barrier twice over the Mojave desert, first for four minutes and secondly for several seconds, to "capture more data."
The successful first supersonic flight of Boom's demonstrator aircraft, XB-1, took place on January 28 2025 at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. Boom designed, built, and flew the world's first independently developed supersonic jet—the first civil supersonic jet made in America.
Flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, XB-1 entered the supersonic corridor and reached an altitude of 35,290 feet before accelerating to Mach 1.122 (652 KTAS or 750 mph)—breaking the sound barrier for the first time. Historically, supersonic aircraft have been the work of nation states, developed by militaries and governments. XB-1's supersonic flight marks the first time an independently developed jet has broken the sound barrier.
Nicknamed "Baby Boom," the demonstrator model is a third of the size of the planned commercial passenger jet. The Boom Overture will be very similar in size and shape to the Concorde, but fifty years brings two significant advantages. They don't have to invent everything from scratch, and modern materials allow it to be less than half the weight—critically important for economic viability.
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