Boom Supersonic just flew its test jet for the first time as it races to build the world's new speediest airliner — meet 'baby boom'

In November, Boom Supersonic announced the XB-1 was gearing up for its first flight and that the company had received its necessary experimental airworthiness certificate from federal regulators to operate the test jet.

Ahead of the flight tests, XB-1 went through a series of ground assessments, including evaluating subsystems, medium-speed taxing testing, and upgrading its engines and landing gear, the company said.

"Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947," Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl wrote in a press release.

"I've been looking forward to this flight since founding Boom in 2014, and it marks the most significant milestone yet on our path to bring supersonic travel to passengers worldwide," he continued.

Boom said the envelope for range, speed, and altitude expands over time and several phases of testing, and its XB-1 inaugural represents just a fraction of what the Overture will be built to fly.

According to Boom, its future faster-than-sound plane is expected to bolt at speeds of up to Mach 1.7, or about 1,300 mph, and cruise at up to 60,000 feet — meaning the plane could connect New York City and London in as little as three and a half hours.

In 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane in the world to fly faster than the speed of sound, soaring over the Mojave Desert, which is designated for special flight use and has a 50-mile supersonic corridor used for Mach speed flight tests over land.

Other famous planes that took off from the Mojave include a rocket-powered experimental jet called the North American X-15. According to the Smithsonian, it was the first winged aircraft to fly four, five, and six times the speed of sound.

Before Boom, Shoemaker helmed the first flight of the Block II Super Hornet military jet and piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing prototypes.

"Everyone on the XB-1 team should be incredibly proud of this achievement," Shoemaker said on Friday. "It has been a privilege to share this journey with so many dedicated and talented professionals. The experience we have gained in reaching this milestone will be invaluable to Boom's revival of supersonic travel."

According to Boom, Brandenburg is a United States Naval Test Pilot School graduate and a TOPGUN Adversary.

Brandenburg and Shoemaker completed hundreds of training hours in flight simulators for both the XB-1 and the T-38 chaser before taking the controls in test flights.

According to Boom, ground monitoring of the mission comes from a control room full of engineers and other staff.

"The control room engineers are the same ones who designed the aircraft systems and have been operating as a team for every single ground test event conducted over the last two years," Boom said.

The "augmented reality vision system" involves two cameras mounted on the nose that enable "excellent runway visibility" for the pilots.

According to Boom, this can improve aerodynamic efficiency and negate the need for Overture to have Concorde's famous movable nose — which lowered to reduce drag and give the pilots better visibility.

Meanwhile, Boom said XB-1 also tests strong but lightweight carbon composite materials, supersonic intakes that slow Mach speed air to subsonic speeds, and "digitally-optimized aerodynamics" that improve supersonic efficiency.

The landing was complicated, but Boom said pilot Shoemaker used the augmented reality system and the help of a "landing signal officer" positioned on the side of the runway to safely land the XB-1 demonstrator.

Although Boom secured GE as the powerplant supplier for its XB-1 demonstrator, the company struggled to find a major engine maker like Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and CFM International to help build its supersonic Overture engine.

GE's 3D printing division, GE Additive, will provide Boom with "additive manufacturing design consulting and technology" to help create a lightweight and fuel-efficient design for Symphony.

Aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt told Business Insider in 2022, when Boom couldn't find an engine supplier, that building an in-house engine would be challenging but could prove lucrative should Boom sell the design.

The baby boom has three engines, while Overture will have four engines mounted on the wings.

Both the XB-1 and Overture are designed with gull wings, which increase safety and decrease engine strain, costs, and noise, according to Boom.

People today still rave about the time when one could fly to London in less time than it takes to cross Manhattan during rush-hour traffic.

The fastest-recorded flight of the Concorde was in February 1996 when a British Airways flight from New York to London crossed the Atlantic in 2 hours 52 minutes 59 seconds.

The trio of global carriers have ordered and pre-ordered a collective 130 Overture aircraft. American has ordered 20 in a deal worth $4 billion at list price, with options for 40 more.

Meanwhile, United has ordered 15 Overture worth $3 billion at list price, with options for 35 more. JAL has invested $10 million in Overture and has the option to buy 20 in a preorder agreement.

Similar to the Concorde, the Overture will sport only business class seats. However, this high-luxury product is likely to be expensive, given the high operating costs of a supersonic plane.

Cost-cutting tactics include implementing systems that improve aerodynamic efficiency, using lightweight materials, and building its Symphony engine with additive parts that will decrease assembly expenses, among other strategies.

"You'll be able to fly Overture for a quarter the price of a Concorde ticket, or about the same price you'd pay in business class today, Scholl said back in 2019, according to Simple Flying. "That's the most important thing."

He repeated this to Simple Flying again in 2022, reiterating Overture tickets would be 75% cheaper than the Concorde and be "within reach for tens of millions of passengers on day one."

Boom said it's working with American aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman for Overture's military and government applications.

The US government signed multi-million deals with hypersonic planemaker Hermeus, which is developing a jet that can go Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound — far beyond what Boom is building.