US, Europe clash over new jet noise rules

MONTREAL/SINGAPORE: A United States push for new global standards to kickstart its fledgling supersonic jet industry is facing resistance by European nations that want tough rules on noise, according to documents and people familiar with the situation.

Fifteen years after Concorde’s last flight, US regulators are weighing rule changes to allow testing of earlystage supersonic jets, amid plans for USmade business and small passenger jets to be in service by the mid-2020s.

But the new industry could face delays at the United Nations aviation agency, where the United States and European countries were squaring off over new noise rules needed for the jets to fly, five sources said, speaking about confidential talks on condition of anonymity.

The previously unreported dispute follows a 1990s clash on noise standards, when the European Union wanted to ban noisy older USmade jets such as the Boeing 727 from its airports and Washington threatened to retaliate by banning the Anglo-French Concorde.

This latest round pits US ambitions for a USled revival of supersonic jets by startups Aerion Supersonic, Boom Supersonic and Spike Aerospace against European fears of disruptive noise from the planes.

Aerion, backed by Lockheed Martin Corp and GE, is considered by industry sources as the most advanced of the supersonic projects. — Reuters

PHOTO: REUTERS Looking sharp . . . The Aerion AS2, the world’s first supersonic business jet, being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp in partnership with with planemaker Aerion Corp, of Reno, Nevada.