The upcoming US presidential jet ‘Air Force One’ would be a futuristic aircraft with supersonic speeds. American startup Exosonic, which is developing the aircraft, hopes to receive its certification by 2030.
It aims to build a supersonic low-boom transport aircraft. It is now working alongside the US Air Force on the aircraft that would ferry the top American officials around the globe at supersonic speeds.
Last year, Exosonic was awarded a $1 million small business innovation research contract by the Air Force to create a prototype of the proposed aircraft. And now, CNN has offered a sneak peek at the aircraft’s interiors. It’s a 31-seater variant of the larger 70-seater passenger jet.
“With this concept, we are planning to implement new technologies that are not available today or that you don’t (yet) see on commercial or business aircraft,” said Stephanie Chahan, Exosonic’s principal aircraft interior designer, as she led CNN on a virtual walk-through.
This Exosonic jet would be able to supercruise at Mach 1.8, which is around 1,381 miles per hour (2,222 km/h) and has a range of over 5,000 miles (about 9,200 km). The main feature of the aircraft would be its low-boom signature, which means that the plane could fly at supersonic speeds without hurting the ears and infrastructure on the ground.
Generally, the planes flying at supersonic speeds create shock waves, generating enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to the human ear. Sonic booms created by large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures.
The interiors of the new Air Force One boast two private suites, including three meeting rooms with secure teleconferencing facilities for the officials to go online or address the media while on the move.
The rotatable seats are leather with wooden shells and the video monitor is capable of being stored in a rolled position so there is space on the credenza sideboard for food platters or presentation equipment.
“So whether they’re flying the Vice President or the first lady, or the first gentleman, we’d have a lot of flexibility here,” Chahan told CNN.
The company expects the aircraft to be flying by the mid-2030s.
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