A hypersonic plane is the latest crazy bet that Boeing has launched. Not yet baptized, the device could fly at over 6.100 km / h at an altitude of 29,000 meters. A technological feat never before conceived, which would transport future passengers anywhere on the planet in just 3 hours.
The plane would thus be able to connect New York to London in 120 minutes (against 7 hours currently), or Montreal-Cuba in 30 minutes (instead of 4 hours).
With a speed of Mach 5, that is to say twice as fast as that of the legendary Concorde and five times the speed of sound, the project of the American giant is striking. If the concept is realized, it will represent fastest vehicle ever driven.
But according to the aircraft manufacturer, the development of the concept is still in its infancy. Many details still need to be worked out and technical challenges met before seeing the first prototype in 20 to 30 years, specifies Brianna Jackson, spokesperson for Boeing.
Significant competition in the field
But the aeronautical company is not alone in wanting to design the successor to the Concorde. Other manufacturers are developing hypersonic airplane concepts, such as Lockheed Martin (Quiet Super Sonic Transport), Spike Aerospace (S-512) and Aerion Corporation (AS2).
Another competitor, and not the least, Elon Musk, head of the aerospace company SpaceX, aims to enable his interplanetary transportation system to transport passengers across the planet at speeds never before attained. Its main objective is to be able to link New York to Shanghai in an hour and a half.
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