Boom XB-1 goes supersonic

The Boom XB-1 has for the first time broken the sound barrier. Boom Technology’s quest to bring back faster-than-sound passenger transport took a significant leap forward on January 28, 2025, with the first human-piloted civil supersonic flight since Concorde’s retirement in 2003. The company’s XB-1 technology demonstrator aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time during Flight 12 of its test programme. The XB-1 was flown by the company’s Chief Test Pilot, Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg, for the sortie, operating