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Supersonic Jet Developer Aerion to Shut Down Operations

Arun Sivasankaran - : May 25, 2021 - : 3:56 am

The aviation industry continues to reel from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest casualty is  Aerion Corp., the supersonic-jet developer, which is ceasing operations after failing to secure enough money to start building the aircraft.

The company announced its decision to stop operations last weekend after failing to raising the large investment needed to move the AS2 private jet from design to production. The company had said in March that output of the first planes would start in 2023 at a factory in Melbourne, Florida, with the first commercial delivery expected in 2027.

Aerion’s goal of reviving civilian supersonic travel for the first time since the 2003 demise of the Concorde had many backers, including Boeing that announced “significant” backing for Aerion in 2019. Boeing had however dissolved its Boeing NeXt investment unit last year after being hit the twin setbacks of the pandemic and the grounding of its bestselling 737 Max aircraft.

Aerion had also signed up General Electric Co. to supply engines and amassed more than US$11 billion in orders.   , including a recent deal for 20 planes from NetJets, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

“While we are disappointed Aerion could not secure additional funding to continue their work, we remain committed to working with innovative and creative partners who, like Aerion, continue to push limits on groundbreaking technology,” Boeing said in a statement.

Aerion’s AS2 was designed to cruise at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or a bit more than 1,000 miles per hour, over water. It would have flown at just below the sound barrier when operating over land to comply with restrictions on supersonic flights.

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