China’s insane new jet faster than Concorde

China has just unveiled a stealthy supersonic jet that blasts through skies 50 per cent further than Concorde.

China’s state-owned aircraft company Comac has revealed plans for a stealthy supersonic jet that can fly at more than 1,200mph.

Designs for the ultra-fast jet, dubbed C949, promise significantly less noise than the retired Concorde and a 50 per cent further flight range.

Engineers at Comac have revealed details of the next-generation aircraft in a recent academic paper.

British Airways and Air France announced April 10, 2003 that they would discontinue flights of the Concorde supersonic jets because of flagging passenger demand. Picture: David Parker/BWP Media/Getty Images

They say they are working on a jet that can achieve 11,000km – a much further stretch than the 7000km capacity of the Concorde.

The project also aims to reduce the sonic booms to 83.9 perceived level in decibels – a sound the equivalent of a hairdryer, according to the South China Morning Post.

That is just one-twentieth of the Concorde’s deafening boom.

China’s supersonic jet C949, which is yet to make it off paper and onto tarmac, could advance China’s role in the modern supersonic aviation industry.

Concorde was blocked from taking overland flights following noise complaints, after civilians complained it was so loud it rattled windows and spooked livestock.

Reducing the noise of the sonic boom could help it overcome regulatory barriers, and compete with rival projects from NASA and Lockheed Martin.

The aircraft, which is yet to make it off paper and onto tarmac, could advance China’s role in the modern supersonic aviation industry.

The US recently marked its first-ever commercial supersonic flight with the homegrown jet XB-1 from Colorado-based Boom Technology.

There are a number of companies in the US and worldwide vying to bring a commercial supersonic airliner to market.

The team say the jet will be able to achieve 6,800 miles – a much further stretch than the 7000km capacity of the Concorde.

The aircraft, which is yet to make it off paper and onto tarmac, could advance China’s role in the modern supersonic aviation industry.

The US recently marked its first-ever commercial supersonic flight with the homegrown jet XB-1 from Colorado-based Boom Technology.

There are a number of companies in the US and worldwide vying to bring a commercial supersonic airliner to market.

XB-1’s inaugural flight lays the groundwork for the company’s Overture aircraft – a supersonic jet with the capacity for 64 passengers.

There are a number of companies in the US and worldwide vying to bring a commercial supersonic airliner to market.

Meanwhile the Chinese jet is designed to hold 168 passengers, more than the 128 maximum capacity of the Concorde.

This will give the C949 more mainstream viability, and leave the Overture jet to more niche markets.

The team has designed the C949 to accommodate between 29 and 48 passengers in a business-class-style cabin – fewer than the Concorde’s 100-seat capacity.

The C949 will also blast slightly slower than its predecessor, which managed to top 1,450mph in its heyday.

China’s Aero Engine Corporation is separately developing a hypersonic jet, known as Nanqiang No 1, that may fly six times faster than the Concorde when it takes to the skies.

The team first started working on the hypersonic jet in 2019, but are yet to make it go supersonic and reach speeds over Mach 1 (767mph).

A supersonic jet is one that can travel faster than the speed of sound at Mach 1, while a hypersonic jet is specifically five times faster, at Mach 5.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission