A hypersonic passenger aircraft reportedly capable of flying between London and New York in less than two hours is among concepts due to be outlined by Boeing at next month’s Farnborough Air Show.
The US aviation giant believes it may be possible to have the aircraft in service in the next 20 to 30 years.
The design suggests speeds of more than 3,800mph could be achieved flying at an altitude of 95,000ft – about 30,000ft higher than supersonic Concorde which was retired 15 years ago.
Engineers are working companywide to develop “enabling technology” that will position Boeing for the time when customers and markets are ready to reap the benefits of hypersonic flight.
Boeing’s senior technical fellow and chief scientist of hypersonics, Kevin Bowcutt, said: “We’re excited about the potential of hypersonic technology to connect the world faster than ever before.
“Boeing is building upon a foundation of six decades of work designing, developing and flying experimental hypersonic vehicles, which makes us the right company to lead the effort in bringing this technology to market in the future.”