Boom's supersonic aircraft will fly at 1,300 mph with a Concorde-like look

Boom Supersonic has revealed impressive new design images of its ultra-fast Overture aircraft.

The company, which aims to usher in a new era of sustainable supersonic commercial flight, has deals in place with United Airlines and Japan Airlines to buy its in-development aircraft.

Boom says the Overture will fly at twice the speed of today's airliners and it will be able to fly from New York to London in only 3.5 hours.

The spiritual heir to the Concorde

Boom Supersonic first revealed the updates to its Overture aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow on July 19.

The Colorado-based company says the Overture will carry between 65-80 passengers and it will fly at Mach 1.7 (approx. 1,300 mph) over oceans. The aircraft will also run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the company expects it to go into production by 2024.

In an interview with IE last year, Boom Supersonic Senior VP, Brian Durrence, said the company wants to "remove the barriers to experiencing the planet" for people. To reach that goal it has had to make some a few recent design iterations.

Firstly, the aircraft will now carry fewer passengers. The company says it has made this sacrifice to make the Overture more quiet and efficient. 

Much like NASA's supersonic X-59 aircraft, Boom's Overture will have a quieter supersonic boom than the Concorde, meaning it will face fewer restrictions while flying over populated areas. It's worth noting, however, that it will still have to fly at just under Mach 1 over land.

The company says the aircraft has buzz-free engines, no afterburners, and will feature the world's first automated noise reduction system. This means it shouldn't be louder than conventional aircraft during takeoff.

Boom Supersonic also announced that it has reconfigured the aircraft's fuselage and gull wings, and added more engines. 

To be precise, Overture will now feature four smaller engines on its wings, which will allow it to be quieter and also decrease operational costs. The aircraft will have a 106-feet wingspan and a length of 201 feet.

A new dawn for commercial supersonic flight

Boom Supersonic still has some work to do to meet that goal of being operational in 2024. According to Boom, the design for the new version of Overture is based on "26 million core-hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests, and the careful evaluation of 51 full design iterations."

Still, Boom CEO Blake Scholl announced that the company is still working on procuring a specific engine for its aircraft.

The new Overture design also features a wider fuselage near the front, which will reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency. The new gull wing design, meanwhile, will improve safety when flying at lower speeds, and it will also decrease engine strain.

Last year, United Airlines announced it was investing $3 billion in an Overture aircraft order. Boom Supersonic expects to begin flight tests in Mojave, California by about 2026 and it hopes to be operational by 2029.