Chinese prototype jet completes test at Mach 4, aims to cut New York-Beijing travel to two hours as maiden passenger flight planned for 2027

BEIJING, Oct 29 — A Chinese aerospace company has completed a successful test flight of a prototype for a supersonic commercial transport plane that aims to travel at Mach 4, which is twice as fast as the retired Concorde.

Beijing-based Space Transportation, also known as Lingkong Tianxing Technology, announced on Sunday that its Yunxing prototype had flown successfully the day before.

In a report by South China Morning Post, the company said it plans to conduct an additional assessment of its engine technology in November.

“We aim to have a full-sized supersonic passenger jet ready for its maiden flight in 2027,” the company said.

The planned aircraft, designed for extreme speed, is expected to reduce travel time from Beijing to New York to about two hours, with a cruising speed surpassing four times the speed of sound.

China’s new supersonic model arrives as other firms around the world develop high-speed passenger travel alternatives.

UK company Reaction Engines recently shared progress on a hybrid engine capable of linking Europe and the United States in two hours, saying their Sabre engine system could push the limits of commercial flight.

Similarly, US-based Boom Supersonic has designed the Overture, a Concorde-inspired aircraft aiming for transatlantic passenger flights by 2029 at speeds up to Mach 2.2.

The last civilian supersonic jet, the Concorde, was developed by British and French aerospace firms and flew at twice the speed of sound from 1976 until its retirement in 2003.