Airbus has agreed to collaborate on technology development with Aerion Corporation, the Reno, Nevada, company that has been working over the last decade to develop a supersonic business jet. “To further their mutual objectives, both companies will exchange knowledge and capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification,” Aerion announced on Monday. Airbus will provide technical and certification support, including the assignment of senior engineering staff to the Aerion program. “This is a major step forward for Aerion,” said chairman Robert Bass. “It puts us solidly on track toward our objective of certifying the world’s first supersonic business jet in 2021. Needless to say, we are thrilled with the resources Airbus Group will bring to the program.”
Under the current timeline, Aerion is targeting first flight of the AS2 supersonic jet in the 2019 timeframe. “This agreement accomplishes two major objectives,” said Aerion CEO Doug Nichols. “It provides validation from the industry leader in aerospace innovation, and it decisively kicks the program into high gear.” Initial collaboration activities have commenced between engineering teams from Aerion and Airbus Defence and Space, which is Airbus Group’s principal liaison organization for AS2 development. The AS2 would carry 8 to 12 passengers at speeds up to Mach 1.6, with a range of about 5,000 nm. It comes with a price tag of about $100 million; the company says it has letters of intent for 50 aircraft.AVweb’s editorial director Paul Bertorelli recently took a look at the Aerion program; click here for his video update and here for his analysis.
