China Successfully Tests Supersonic Passenger Jet Prototype

A Chinese company says it has test-flown a prototype commercial transport aircraft that can fly at Mach 4, twice the speed of the Concorde jet.

The prototype was tested on Saturday, October 26, 2024. An engine assessment will be conducted in November. The Yunxing image appears to have two engines of an unknown design. The company has not provided any further details. It is expected that plans to reach Mach 4 will involve some sort of ramjet, and perhaps even rotary detonators. Flying faster than Mach 4 would mean that the Yunxing would be traveling at twice the speed of the Soviet Tu-144 and the British-French Concorde. This is a major challenge in aircraft manufacturing, especially for civil aviation, which will require the payback of flights. It was the super-expensive economics of the Tu-144 and Concorde that killed them in the first place.

The goal of the tests is to create a full-size supersonic passenger jet that will be ready to make its first flight in 2027.

According to its developer, the supersonic jet will be able to fly passengers from Beijing to New York in about two hours.