Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Representative Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas-22) Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, penned an op-ed on their plan to usher in a new golden age of American aviation by lifting the ban on supersonic flight.
“China is already angling to replace the United States in aerospace leadership, investing heavily in supersonic technology and international standards setting. It has already produced clones of Western-made airliners and recently announced its own supersonic passenger plane. If the United States wants to stay the leader in aerospace innovation, the time to modernize is now. …
“In Washington, we are already working to update decades-old systems. … While we are upgrading air traffic control technologies, there is no better time to unleash the potential of supersonic flight, so these systems are compatible with the future,” the legislators wrote.
Read the op-ed that ran in the Washington Examiner HERE or below:
Supersonic aviation modernization is key to US aerospace leadership
For over half a century, there has been a speed limit in the sky. It is long overdue for that to change. American company Boom Supersonic has developed a next-generation aircraft designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, without an audible sonic boom hitting the ground. This groundbreaking aerospace technology has put high-speed travel within reach for the first time since the Concorde. Now, the question is no longer whether supersonic flights will return to commercial air routes, but when.
The first supersonic passenger flight made history on Jan. 21, 1976, when the Concorde took off, marking a new era for commercial aviation. The jet set a new benchmark for speed and innovation, flying at altitudes of 50,000 to 60,000 feet, nearly twice that of standard commercial planes. In 2003, the Concorde was retired, driven by a combination of high operational costs, excessive fuel use, safety concerns, and federal regulations that restricted it to trans-Atlantic routes.
For the last 20 years, civil supersonic flights have been grounded by these same regulations, but Boom has proven that a next-generation supersonic jet is ready for takeoff. Thanks to American ingenuity, these cutting-edge planes feature significantly quieter engines and refined aerodynamics, enabling them to break the sound barrier without disturbing communities below. This is made possible by a phenomenon known as Mach cutoff, which causes the sonic boom to refract in the atmosphere, preventing it from ever reaching the ground. The result is an aircraft that is not only faster and more efficient, but also safer for passenger travel.
With 2.9 million passengers traveling through airports across the United States daily and more than 600 global routes where supersonic travel is economically viable, even without crossing over land, the time has come to lift the Federal Aviation Administration’s outdated ban on civil supersonic flight.
China is already angling to replace the United States in aerospace leadership, investing heavily in supersonic technology and international standards setting. It has already produced clones of Western-made airliners and recently announced its own supersonic passenger plane. If the United States wants to stay the leader in aerospace innovation, the time to modernize is now.
That is why we were proud to introduce the bicameral, bipartisan Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act to require the FAA administrator to issue regulations to legalize supersonic flight over land. For passengers, this means reduced travel times — cutting flights coast-to-coast by 90 minutes. Safety, of course, remains our top priority.
The United States maintains the safest airspace in the world, but the FAA’s recent challenges, some with devastating consequences, have been a sobering reminder of what’s at stake. For those who lost their lives, these failures have been nothing short of tragic. It’s a wake-up call that underscores the urgent need for reform, accountability, and investment in a safer, more modern aviation system.
In Washington, we are already working to update decades-old systems and to ensure the agency is fully staffed and equipped to manage the busy air system safely. While we are upgrading air traffic control technologies, there is no better time to unleash the potential of supersonic flight, so these systems are compatible with the future.
We have an opportunity to usher in a new golden age of American air travel. It’s time to cut the red tape and unleash the maximum capability of supersonic aviation.
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