When will Boom show its engine card?

Unless Boom Supersonic has something up to its sleeve in the form of a contract with an undisclosed engine maker, the US start-up seems to have hit a serious setback. It still hasn’t a confirmed engine and can now exclude Rolls-Royce from the list, after the UK maker confirmed that it is no longer involved in the supersonic airliner project. When will Boom show its engine card?

The news was first brought by AINonline on September 6 and later by Aviation Week and FlightGlobal on September 7 and 8. Rolls-Royce hasn’t provided further details about its decision, except for this statement: “We have 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 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.”

Rolls-Royce and Boom announced their collaboration on July 30, 2020. In a statement, Rolls-Royce said back then: “The goal of the new agreement is to work together to identify the propulsion system that would complement Boom’s Overture airframe. The engagement will involve teams from Boom and Rolls-Royce collaborating in engine-airframe matching activities for Boom’s flagship supersonic passenger aircraft, Overture. The teams will also examine certain key aspects of the propulsion system. The teams will investigate whether an existing engine architecture can be adapted for supersonic flight, while Boom’s internal team continues to develop the airframe configuration.”