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. The first supersonic jet built from airliner technology, XB-1 incorporates many of the key features found on Overture, such as carbon fiber composites, digital stability augmentation, and an augmented reality vision system for landing visibility. Following its inaugural flight in March 2024, XB-1 completed a rigorous series of 11 human-piloted test flights under increasingly challenging conditions to evaluate systems and aerodynamics. Over the course of the flight test campaign, the XB-1 team systematically expanded the flight envelope through subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds—while taking smart risks and maintaining safety as top priority.