航天firmBoom Supersonichas gained a contract worth up to $60 million from theUS Air Force(USAF) to accelerate the R&D of its upcoming ‘Overture’ supersonic flight-capable aircraft.
Awarded via the USAF’safwerxinnovation arm, the ‘STRATFI’ funding is designed to help ramp up the aero and engine-testing programs of the Overture, whose initialXB-1 demonstratoris being partially-built using 3D printing. Set to be capable of carrying up to 88 passengers at twice the speed of today’s airliners, while also running on 100% sustainable fuels, the Overture is slated to enter service by 2030.
“With STRATFI, we’re able to collaborate with the Air Force on the unique requirements and needs for global military missions, ultimately allowing Boom to better satisfy the needs of the Air Force,” said Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl. “As a potential future platform for the Air Force, Overture would offer the valuable advantage of time, an unmatched option domestically and internationally.”
“We are proud of the Air Force’s continued support and recognition of Boom’s leadership in supersonic flight—and we see our partnership as mutually beneficial.”
Boom’s supersonic flight ambition
Founded in 2014, with the aim of bringing back commercial supersonic air travel for the first time since the Concorde made its final flight in 2003, Boom Supersonic unveiled its inaugural aircraft demonstrator in October 2020. Known as the ‘XB-1,’ this proof-of-concept airliner is being built to prove the viability of the firm’s Mach 2.2-capable Overture design.
Even though this prototype will only be a third of the Overture’s size, its custom composite structure still comprises over 3,700 parts including landing gear, flight control actuators and cooling systems. To take on the mammoth task of building this demonstrator, Boom Supersonic has often turned to 3D printing, first usingStratasys’F370和Fortus 3D打印机要开发XB-1 tooling and prototypes。
Two years later, the company agreed a与Stratasys的长期合作关系, which has seen the firms move beyond rapid prototyping, and into the production of end-use parts for both the XB-1 and potentially the Overture. This deal was followed by a similar agreement withVELO3D此后，它看到了繁荣的超音速3D print another 21 XB-1 parts, including vanes, ducts and louvres.
Despite the fact the XB-1 hasn’t flown since it was rolled-out in late 2020, Boom Supersonic has so far managed to secure $270 million to fund its development, as well as an order for 15 Overtures fromUnited Airlines。尽管该公司最初宣布该原型将在2021年进行飞行测试，但现在似乎已经推迟了，尽管截至截至目前尚未改变序曲的启动日期。
The Overture gets Air Force backing
繁荣超音速的最新支持来自两个the USAF’s AFWERX and AFVentures divisions. Set up to foster a culture of innovation across the service, AFWERX encompasses a number of investment programs such as AFVentures, which are designed to fund the R&D of commercial technologies that could help solve USAF problems.
The capital itself has been awarded as a Strategic Funding Increase or ‘STRATFI’ contract, the likes of which are typically dished out to help the recipients of SBIR/STTR funding scale their efforts in a way that advances the USAF’s strategic capabilities, with prior awardees including operational AI developerFalkonryand space sensor producer轨道搭档。
In Boom Supersonic’s case, its newly-raised funding supplements that it was awarded as part of an initial SBIR Phase 2 contract in September 2020. Leveraging this additional backing, the firm now intends to accelerate some of the critical steps in the Overture’s R&D, such as its wind tunnel testing and propulsion system definition programs.
Framed as a three-year ‘strategic partnership,’ the award also represents a substantial increase in the USAF’s investment in Boom Supersonic, and it’s thought that a successor to the Overture could go on to enhance the service’s rapid global transport and logistical capabilities, particularly within its executive transport, intelligence, surveillance, recon, Special Ops or Pacific Air Force operations.
Boom Supersonic在其商业推出方面表示，预计明年将进入生产，然后于2025年推出，并开始“到期十年末”驾驶乘客。
Advances in flight-ready 3D printing
仅在过去的一年中，许多航空公司的数量增加就开始采用3D打印，以优化与创建可飞行的飞机组件相关的重量，交货时间和成本。在最近binder jet 3D printing trials,JPBSystèmefound that it was able to make some of its aerospace parts 30% lighter and up to 80% faster than before.
空中客车has also usedMaterialise3D printing for some time, having first deployed FDM technology to produce elements of its A350 aircraft several years ago, but in June 2021, the firm took this a step further by making the firm thefirst qualified to SLS 3D print parts对于其工艺，在其流程规范下AIPS 03-07-022。
Elsewhere, on a national-level, the state-owned conglomerateRostecgained a license from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade toserially 3D print aerospace partsearlier this month. As the first Russian firm to publicly confirm its intention to deploy industrial 3D printing in aviation, the business is now reportedly allowed to produce and test airline, helicopter and engine components.
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the3D Printing Industry newsletteror follow us onTwitteror liking our page onFacebook。
For a deeper dive into additive manufacturing, you can now subscribe to ourYoutubechannel, featuring discussion, debriefs, and shots of 3D printing in-action.
Are you looking for a job in the additive manufacturing industry? Visit3D Printing Jobsfor a selection of roles in the industry.
Featured image shows Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. Photo via Boom Supersonic.
