Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Announces Supersonic Flight Is Coming to the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking a pivotal step toward enabling civil supersonic flights over the continental United States. Thanks to massive innovations in supersonic technology, it will be possible to safely operate these innovative aircraft without a sonic boom. When operational, next-gen supersonic planes will drastically reduce travel times–enabling faster movement of people and goods.
Today’s proposed rule sets a noise-based certification standard for supersonic aircraft. In addition to this first rule, the FAA plans to propose another rule later this year, establishing landing and takeoff noise standards for supersonic aircraft.
Together, these actions will give manufacturers the guidance they need to finalize their designs and bring these exciting innovations online.
“Restoring supersonic flight over land isn’t just about speed, it's about unleashing American innovation and ushering in a Golden Age of Travel,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership , we are working at lightning speed to safely enable the next quantum leap in aviation technology and deliver an exciting new way to fly to the American flying public.”
“Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, noise reduction, and new operational concepts will eliminate the old sonic boom,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “This means we can ultimately repeal the ban from the 1970s on supersonic flight over U.S. territory while minimizing noise impacts to residents in communities along the route and near airports.”
“This is how America wins—by moving at the speed of our innovators,” said Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios. “For too long, outdated rules held back our engineers and manufacturers. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are clearing the runway for supersonic flight, strengthening our industrial base, creating high-skilled jobs, and ensuring the future of aviation is invented and built in America. American ingenuity broke the sound barrier once before, and today’s action ensures it will define the new Golden Age of Aviation.”
The FAA aims to finalize both rules by mid-2027.
Additional Information:
Aircraft flying at supersonic speeds–Mach 1 and above–are traveling approximately 770+ miles per hour. Commercial airlines generally fly between 550 and 600 miles per hour.
One key to enabling supersonic travel is reducing the noise experienced by sonic booms. One means of achieving this is using a flight technique called Mach cutoff where the aircraft design, atmospheric conditions, speed, and altitude work in combination to ensure the sonic boom bends and refracts back into the atmosphere, significantly reducing its ground-level impact.
The FAA is collaborating with the International Civil Aviation Organization, NASA, Industry, and academic institutions and applying their research to inform supersonic noise standards.
Executive Order 14304 Leading the World in Supersonic Flight also calls for the FAA to secure aviation safety agreements with foreign aviation authorities for the safe international operation of supersonic aircraft.
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