Photo Source: Boom Supersonic
After ending its partnership with Rolls Royce in September, Boom Supersonic has found a new way to work on its Overture supersonic engine. Boom Supersonic announced on Tuesday that Symphony, a new propulsion system that will be designed for the Overture supersonic airliner.
Boom will work with three industry leaders to develop Symphony including GE Additive for additive technology design consulting, Florida Turbine Technologies for engine design and StandardAero for maintenance.
“Developing a supersonic engine specifically for Overture offers by far the best value proposition for our customers,” CEO and Founder of Boom Supersonic Blake Scholl said. “Through the Symphony program, we can provide our customers with an economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airplane—a combination unattainable with the current constraints of derivative engines and industry norms.”
At the start of 2022, Boom entered into a $60 million three-year partnership with the U.S. Air Force. The contract awarded to Boom was one of the program’s largest investments to help accelerate the research and development of Overture, Boom’s commercial airliner. The funding included wind tunnel testing and propulsion system definition.
Manufacturing of the supersonic airliner will begin in 2023 and go through 2025, with passenger flights expected by the end of the decade. The 2022 contract came after the previous contract with the Air Force in 2020, which also meant to further the Overture program.
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Rolls Royce and Boom had signed an engagement agreement in 2020, but the partnership ended in September.
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson said: “We’ve completed our contract with Boom and delivered various engineering studies for their Overture supersonic program. After careful consideration, Rolls-Royce has determined that the commercial aviation supersonic market is not currently a priority for us and, therefore, will not pursue further work on the program at this time. It has been a pleasure to work with the Boom team and we wish them every success in the future.”
Boom Supersonic said in a statement to GlobalAir.com: “We are appreciative of Rolls-Royce’s work over the last few years, but it became clear that Rolls’ proposed engine design and legacy business model is not the best option for Overture’s future airline operators or passengers.”
The new partnership with three industry leaders led to the development of the Symphony. Overture’s new propulsion system will eventually operate at net zero carbon and meet Chapter 14 noise levels. In comparison with derivative approaches, the new system is expected to deliver a 25% increase in time-on-wing while lowering engine maintenance costs for airline customers by about 10%.
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In June 2021, United Airlines announced an agreement with Boom to add aircraft to its fleet. United agreed to purchase 15 of Boom’s Overture airliners, once the aircraft meets its safety, operating, and sustainability requirements. There is an option for an additional 35 aircraft.
“The world’s first purchase agreement for net-zero carbon supersonic aircraft marks a significant step toward our mission to create a more accessible world,” Scholl said. “United and Boom share a common purpose — to unite the world safely and sustainably.”
“United and Boom share a passion for making the world dramatically more accessible through sustainable supersonic travel,” the President of United Airlines Ventures, Mike Leskinen said. “The team at Boom understands what we need to create a compelling experience for our passengers, and we are looking forward to a United supersonic fleet powered by Symphony.”
Partners collaborating on the Symphony program
Florida Turbine Technologies, a business unit of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, will serve as the engine design team. FTT has supersonic engine design experience and was involved in the design of the F-119 and F-135 Pratt & Whitney supersonic engines that power the F-22 and F-35.
“The team at FTT has a decades-long history of developing innovative, high-performance propulsion solutions,” President of FTT Stacey Rock said. “We are proud to team with Boom and its Symphony partners and look forward to developing the first bespoke engine for sustainable, economical supersonic flight.”
GE Additive will collaborate on the Symphony program, using experience in designing additively manufactured engine components. These components can reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
“We are excited to support Overture and Symphony,” said Chris Schuppe, GM of Engineering and Technology at GE Additive. “GE Additive will bring industry-leading capabilities to Symphony, providing additive manufacturing design consulting and technology, while looking for additional areas to potentially collaborate.”
The third partner, StandardAero, is a large independent MRO provider and will ensure the Symphony is designed for maintainability. This collaboration between StandardAero and Boom will provide reliable and economical operations as well as determine the maintenance services for the life of the aircraft. StandardAero also has experience assembling supersonic engines.
“We are excited to team with Boom as its strategic engine MRO partner and for the opportunity to contribute to the company’s bright future, ensuring its aircraft will receive the industry’s finest engine MRO services,” Chairman and CEO of StandardAero, Russel Ford said. “Our current qualifications, capabilities and experience assembling and servicing supersonic military jet engines makes us the intelligent solution for future commercial, supersonic engine MRO applications.”
How the Symphony technology will work
The Symphony propulsion system will be a medium-bypass turbofan engine with many of the same components as a basic engine. The new system, unlike subsonic turbofans, has a Boom-designed axisymmetric supersonic intake, a passively cooled high-pressure turbine, and a variable-geometry low-noise exhaust nozzle.
The engine design will feature a twin-spool, medium-bypass turbofan engine and no afterburner. Thrust will be 35,000 lbs at takeoff and fuel will be optimized for 100% SAF. A single-stage fan will be designed for quieter operation. Additive manufacturing will account for low weight, low part count and reduced assembly costs. The new system will be compliant with FAA and EASA Part 33 requirements.
Overture is set to receive type certification in 2029. Production will begin in 2024 at the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, rolling out in 2026 and having the first flight in 2027.
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