President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order instructing the FAA to repeal its ban on supersonic flight over U.S. land.
“America once led the world in supersonic aviation, but decades of stifling regulations grounded progress,” the order read. “This order removes regulatory barriers so that U.S. companies can dominate supersonic flight once again.”
Under current regulations, only military aircraft can exceed the sound barrier over U.S. land, and even then, they are limited to areas with relatively few people. The rules were put in place in 1973 to limit sonic booms, which are not only loud but capable of damaging property on the ground below.
The order said that, with advances in noise-reduction technology, supersonic flight is “not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.” New noise standards will be developed that weigh “community acceptability, economic reasonableness, and technological feasibility,” the White House added.
New Advances
The president’s order will likely be seen as a boon to U.S. companies exploring supersonic technology, which is making a comeback after a decades-long lull.
In January, Colorado-based Boom Supersonic broke the sound barrier with its XB-1 demonstration aircraft. The XB-1 is the first American-made civilian jet to travel faster than the speed of sound.
Boom Supersonic is currently developing a supersonic airliner called Overture, which the company hopes to make operational by the end of the decade.
“Thank you, President Trump, for unlocking the future of faster and quieter travel,” the company wrote in a social media post.
In May, Republicans in Congress advanced a bill that would have repealed some aspects of the supersonic flight ban as long as an audible sonic boom did not reach the ground. The lawmakers said the change was needed to keep the U.S. competitive with China, where state-owned manufacturer Comac is developing the supersonic C949.
