Jet Announcements Make a Boom

Jun. 21—GUILFORD COUNTY — A company planning to build a new generation of commercial supersonic jets in Guilford County made a sweeping series of announcements Tuesday at the world's largest aviation event, underlining what it called "significant advances" toward beginning production.

Among Boom Supersonic's announcements at the Paris Air Show was progress on construction of its "superfactory" at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

The package of major announcements follows last December's announcement that Boom was partnering with three aviation companies to develop and build engines. That announcement came after several major engine manufacturers passed on the project, fueling speculation in the aviation industry that the project could be in trouble.

Tuesday's announcements, by contrast, came with a celebratory flourish and assurances smattered throughout a long press release of the project's ultimate success.

For instance, Ric Parker, the chair of Singapore Aerospace Programme and a former chief technology officer of aircraft engine-maker Rolls-Royce, one of the companies that passed on Boom's engine, said Boom's engine program ensures the jet will be "a commercial and enduring success."

"Boom's strategy ... is very innovative. Their approach makes it compelling for top-tier suppliers to seek the opportunity to contribute their expertise and capabilities to this exciting, breakthrough, supersonic engine program," Parker said.

At the PTIA superfactory site, where the final production assembly line will be, the foundation has been poured, and steel trusses and beams are being erected, the company said in a press release. Boom is building the superfactory campus in sections, focusing first on the assembly line, which will be about 150,000 square feet, with an additional 24,000 square feet of office space.

Boom Supersonic has pledged to create 1,760 jobs and invest $500 million at PTIA through the end of the decade.

But the focus of Tuesday's announcements was supplier agreements for major structural parts of Boom's proposed passenger jet, dubbed Overture, including for its wings and fuselage, as well as an expanded engine partnership for production of the initial units for testing and certification.

The company also unveiled a computer-generated video showing details schematics of the jet's major systems, including avionics, flight controls, hydraulics, fuel systems and landing gear; unveiled key details of its engine design; and announced that Boom will support Northrop Grumman on a NASA contract to study creating a high-speed plane that would travel in the upper edges of the atmosphere.

Major partners announced Tuesday were Spain-based Aernnova, one of the world's largest aerospace suppliers, tol design and develop the wing structure; Italy-based Leonardo, a company that makes structural composite components for aircraft, for fuselage components; and Spain-based Aciturri, to design and develop stabilizing surfaces on the aircraft's tail.

Boom has said that it hopes to begin production at PTIA in 2024, with a goal of having the first completed jets in 2026 and gaining Federal Aviation Administration certification to launch commercial flights in 2029.

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