Supersonic Jet with twice the speed of sound to be next US 'Air Force One', see pics

A Californian startup Exosonic and Atlanta-based Hermeus Corporation have been working to design a supersonic jet as the next presidential aircraft ‘US Air Force One’ that will fly at 1,381 mph or 1.8 times the speed of sound. The 31 passengers supersonic airliner without the window shattering sonic boom would “allow key decision-makers and teams to travel around the world in half the time it takes now,” the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate (PE), that manages  US government executive transport aircraft, such as the VC-25A and Boeing 747-200B  said on Twitter. The developers of faster-than-the-speed-of-sound supersonic jets Exosonic was given a  $1 million contract by the US Air Force’s Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate in early September last year, according to multiple US press reports. 

The company has now released the first images of the futuristic supersonic jet that will carry the US presidential and executive fleet to countries across the world in unbelievably high-speed air travel. Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton, Program Executive Officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, which is behind Space Force, in an AFLCMC’s Leadership Log podcast discussed the supersonic low boom jet, potentially the upcoming Air Force One prototype plane ‘Mach 1.8 twinjet’. 

“Think about shrinking the world by getting somewhere twice as fast,” said Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton.  "The idea came about while exploring potential future requirements in executive travel and learning about burgeoning interest in supersonic travel within the private business in the United States,” he added. 

US Air Force to 'modify cabins'

AFLCMC’s Presidential and Executive Airlift team partnered with leading aviation firms to contribute to the industry efforts to reduce flight times by 50 percent or more. Brig. Gen. Britton said, “From an Air Force perspective, we would never holistically invest in commercial transport for executive airlift to fly supersonic. But if we can pair our investments with what private investors are doing, well then you have a 10-15 fold increase in the amount of money available to actually do something that could change the way we do business for executives or military teams.” Britton revealed that the US Air Force has made $4.5 million private investment, and is looking to make huge strides in future to “build the industrial base for the nation.” 

In a statement, Exosonic's CEO, Norris Tie, said that the aviation firm’s Mach 1.8 will fly at 1,381 miles per hour (2,222 kilometers), cutting half the time compared to normal commercial flights. The 70 seater jet will have a 5,000-nautical-mile range, and the Exosonic will work with US Air Force to modify the cabin designs to install advanced military equipment and communications systems for the security of leaders that will travel onboard. 

(All Images Credit: Instagram/@flyexosonic)