Boeing Invests in the Aerion SST

Much of the scepticism about whether the Aerion SST 12-seat business jet might ever fly was probably squashed when Boeing NeXt announced that the company was making a significant investment into the aircraft builder. Boeing NeXt’s portfolio includes autonomous air vehicles and passenger-carrying hypersonic aircraft. Founded in 2003 to develop new, more efficient aerodynamic technologies for supersonic aircraft, Aerion Supersonic introduced its AS2 12-passenger business jet design in 2014. The company unveiled the AS2’s GE Affinity engine design in 2018.

Boeing will provide engineering, manufacturing and flight test resources, as well as strategic vertical content, to bring Aerion’s AS2 supersonic business jet to market. The AS2 is designed to fly at speeds of up to Mach 1.4 or approximately 1,000 miles per hour. The aircraft has the ability to fly up to 70 percent faster than today’s business jets, saving approximately three hours on a transatlantic flight whilst meeting environmental performance requirements. The aircraft is slated for its first flight in 2023.

Tom Vice, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aerion said, “The AS2 is the launch point for the future of regulatory-compliant and efficient supersonic flight. Together with Boeing, we are creating a faster, more connected future with tremendous possibilities for enhancing humanity’s productivity and potential.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed. On a side note, Aerion reported a partnership deal with Lockheed in 2017, as well as a hook-up with Airbus in December 2014. Neither appears to have created the value for which both partners had hoped.