Aerion Corporation, promoters of the AS2 12-seat, supersonic business jet concept, have partnered with Lockheed Martin to explore development and production feasibility for the project. “Following our initial review of Aerion’s aerodynamic technology, our conclusion is that the Aerion AS2 concept warrants the further investment of our time and resources,” says Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “We are committed to remaining on the cutting edge of aerospace technology and are excited to examine the contribution we might make to working with Aerion on making aviation history.”
Lockheed seems to be taking it slow with its new partner. “Aerion and Lockheed Martin announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to define a formal and gated process to explore the feasibility of a joint development of the world’s first supersonic business jet, the Aerion AS2,” said the companies in a joint press release. Neither financial terms nor any specific commitments have been made available. Lockheed is a public company and is required to file notices with the Securities and Exchange Commission when entering into a definitive material agreement, and evidently determined none was necessary in this case.
The Aerion AS2 concept would cruise at Mach 1.4 over water, and is designed to operate in the low supersonic range without producing a boom audible on the ground, which Aerion hopes will influence U.S. policymakers to remove the restriction on supersonic flight in U.S. airspace.
