Following the news that Boom is teaming with Northrop Grumman to adapt a supersonic airline design for military use; James Marques, Associate Aerospace, Defense and Security Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view: “Boom’s collaboration with leading defense firm Northrop Grumman has the potential to transform operational tempos in time-critical military operations.
Together, the companies will offer planes with high-speed capabilities for use in mission types typically constrained by slower airframes—such as delivering supplies, emergency evacuation and surveillance.
The large aircraft currently used for these missions are limited to subsonic speeds (less than 273 meters per second), but Boom’s airframe combined with Northrop’s renowned mission systems will allow for supersonic capabilities (approximately 343.2 meters per second).”
“Boom’s civilian Overture jet already has United and Japan airlines in its order book and its military exploration has backing from the US Air Force. The latest interest from Norththrop Grumman, an industry leader in avionics and agile open-architecture mission systems, adds further credibility to a project set to compete in a market set to grow at a CAGR of 2.81% to value $126 billion by 2031, according to GlobalData.
“Further, these two US companies demonstrate the continued dominance of American innovation in the aviation industry. US-based companies currently account for seven of the top 20 research and development (R&D) spenders in defense, according to GlobalData analysis.”