Supersonic Aviation
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A supersonic aircraft is an
aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
capable of
supersonic flight A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1). Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for r ...
, that is, flying faster than the
speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...
(
Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...
1).
Supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for research and military purposes, but only two supersonic aircraft, the
Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic airliner, supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft wit ...
(first flown on December 31, 1968) and the
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
(first flown on March 2, 1969), ever entered service for civil use as airliners.
Fighter jets Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the air ...
are the most common example of supersonic aircraft. The
aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
of supersonic flight is called
compressible flow Compressible flow (or gas dynamics) is the branch of fluid mechanics that deals with flows having significant changes in fluid density. While all flows are compressibility, compressible, flows are usually treated as being incompressible flow, incom ...
because of the
compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression * Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a ...
associated with the
shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
s or "
sonic boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to ...
" created by any object traveling faster than sound. Aircraft flying at speeds above Mach 5 are called
hypersonic aircraft Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about at Hypersonic speed, speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where Dissociation (chemistry), dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Spe ...
. Supersonic speed is reckoned with respect to
air speed In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air it is flying through (which itself is usually moving relative to the ground due to wind). In contrast, the ground speed is the speed of an aircraft with respect to the surf ...
; higher speeds can be achieved in terms of
ground speed Ground speed is the horizontal component of the velocity of an aircraft relative to the Earth’s surface, also referred to as "speed over the ground". It is vital for accurate navigation that the pilot has an estimate of the ground speed that wil ...
when flying in the same direction as fast-moving winds such as the
jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow thermal wind, air currents in the Earth's Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the gl ...
.


History

The first aircraft to fly supersonic in level flight was the American
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces– U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by B ...
experimental plane which was powered by a thrust rocket powered by liquid oxygen and ethyl alcohol. Most supersonic aircraft have been military or experimental aircraft. Aviation research during World War II led to the creation of the first rocket- and jet-powered aircraft. Several claims of breaking the sound barrier during the war subsequently emerged. However, the first recognized flight exceeding the speed of sound by a manned aircraft in controlled level flight was performed on October 14, 1947 by the experimental
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a Rocket-powered aircraft, rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic resea ...
research rocket plane piloted by
Chuck Yeager Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in his ...
. The first aircraft to break the sound barrier with a female pilot was an F-86
Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force ...
with
Jacqueline Cochran Jacqueline Cochran (May 11, 1906 – August 9, 1980) was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to br ...
at the controls. According to David Masters, the
DFS 346 The DFS 346 (''Samolyot 346'') was a German rocket-powered swept-wing aircraft which began development during World War II in Germany. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS), the "German Insti ...
prototype captured in Germany by the Soviets, after being released from a B-29 at 32800 ft (10000 m), reached 683 mph (1100 km/h) late in 1951, which would have exceeded Mach 1 at that height. The pilot in these flights was the German Wolfgang Ziese. On August 21, 1961, a
Douglas DC-8-43 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force's (USAF) requirement for a j ...
(registration N9604Z) exceeded
Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...
1 in a controlled dive during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base. The crew were William Magruder (pilot), Paul Patten (copilot), Joseph Tomich (flight engineer), and Richard H. Edwards (flight test engineer). This was the first intentional supersonic flight by a civilian airliner, and the only one ever performed by a civilian airliner other than the
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
or
Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft with its prototype's ma ...
. In the 1960s and 1970s, many design studies for supersonic airliners were done and eventually two types entered service, the Soviet
Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic airliner, supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft wit ...
(1968) and Anglo-French
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
(1969). However political, environmental and economic obstacles and one fatal Concorde crash prevented them from being used to their full commercial potential.


Design principles

Supersonic flight brings with it substantial technical challenges, as the aerodynamics of supersonic flight are dramatically different from those of subsonic flight (i.e., flight at speeds slower than that of sound). In particular,
aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...
rises sharply as the aircraft passes the transonic regime, requiring much greater engine power and more streamlined airframes.


Wings

To optimize drag, wingspan must be limited, which also reduces aerodynamic efficiency during subsonic flight, including takeoff and landing. Minimizing wave drag is a crucial aspect of wing design. Since a supersonic aircraft must also take off and land at a relatively slow speed, its aerodynamic design must be a compromise between the requirements for both ends of the speed range. One approach to resolving this compromise is the use of a
variable-geometry wing The wing configuration or planform of a fixed-wing aircraft (including both glider (aircraft), gliders and powered aeroplanes) is its arrangement of lifting and related surfaces. Aircraft designs are often classified by their wing configuratio ...
, commonly known as the "swing-wing," which spreads wide for low-speed flight and then sweeps sharply, usually backwards, for supersonic flight. However, swinging affects the longitudinal trim of the aircraft and the swinging mechanism adds weight and cost. Use of a
delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (letter), delta (Δ). Although long studied, the delta wing did not find significant practical applications unti ...
, such as those used on the Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde generates a
vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex (: vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
which energises the flow on the upper surface of the wing at high speeds and attack angles, delaying flow separation, and giving the aircraft a very high stall angle. It also solves the issue of fluid
compressibility In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility or, if the temperature is held constant, the isothermal compressibility) is a measure of the instantaneous relative volume change of a f ...
at transonic and supersonic speeds. However, it is, of course, inefficient at lower speeds due to the requirement of a high angle of attack, and therefore need the use of flaps.


Heating

Another problem is the heat generated due to air compression as well as friction as the air flows over the aircraft. Most subsonic designs use aluminium alloys such as
Duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...
, which are cheap and easy to work but lose their strength quickly at high temperatures. This limits maximum speed to around Mach 2.2. Most supersonic aircraft, including many military
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
, are designed to spend most of their flight at subsonic speeds, and only to exceed the speed of sound for short periods such as when intercepting an enemy aircraft. A smaller number, such as the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
reconnaissance aircraft and the Concorde supersonic airliner, have been designed to cruise continuously at speeds above the speed of sound, and with these designs the problems of supersonic flight are more severe.


Engines

Some early supersonic aircraft, including the first, relied on
rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
power to provide the necessary thrust, although rockets burn a lot of fuel and so flight times were short. Early
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
s were more fuel-efficient but did not have enough thrust and some experimental aircraft were fitted with both a turbojet for low-speed flight and a rocket engine for supersonic flight. The invention of the
afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
, in which extra fuel is burned in the jet exhaust, made these mixed powerplant types obsolete. The
turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...
engine passes additional cold air around the engine core, further increasing its
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...
, and supersonic aircraft today are powered by turbofans fitted with afterburners. Supersonic aircraft usually use
low bypass turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the additional fan stag ...
s as they have acceptable efficiency below the speed of sound as well as above; or if
supercruise Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of a supersonic aircraft without using afterburner. Many supersonic military aircraft are not capable of supercruise and can maintain Mach 1+ flight only in short bursts with afterburners. Aircraft s ...
is needed
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engines may be desirable as they give less nacelle drag at supersonic speeds. The
Pratt & Whitney J58 The Pratt & Whitney J58 (company designation JT11D-20) is an American jet engine that powered the Lockheed A-12, and subsequently the Lockheed YF-12, YF-12 and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, SR-71 aircraft. It was an afterburning turbojet engin ...
engines of the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
operated in 2 ways, taking off and landing as turbojets with no bypass, but bypassing some of the compressor air to the afterburner at higher speeds. This allowed the Blackbird to fly at over Mach 3, faster than any other production aircraft. The heating effect of air friction at these speeds meant that a special fuel had to be developed which did not break down in the heat and clog the fuel pipes on its way to the burner. Another high-speed powerplant is the
ramjet A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to . Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...
. This needs to be flying fairly fast before it will work at all.


Supersonic flight

Subsonic
aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
is simpler than Supersonic
aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
because the airsheets at different points along the plane often cannot affect each other in subsonic flight. Supersonic jets and rocket vehicles require several times greater thrust to push through the extra
aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...
experienced within the
transonic Transonic (or transsonic) flow is air flowing around an object at a speed that generates regions of both subsonic and Supersonic speed, supersonic airflow around that object. The exact range of speeds depends on the object's critical Mach numb ...
region (around Mach 0.85–1.2). At these speeds
aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
s can gently guide air around the
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
of the aircraft without producing new
shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
s, but any change in cross area farther down the vehicle leads to shock waves along the body. Designers use the
Whitcomb area rule The Whitcomb area rule, named after NACA engineer Richard Whitcomb and also called the transonic area rule, is a design procedure used to reduce an aircraft's drag at transonic speeds which occur between about Mach 0.75 and 1.2. For supersonic ...
to minimize sudden changes in size. However, in practical applications, a supersonic aircraft must operate stably in both subsonic and supersonic profiles, hence aerodynamic design is more complex. One problem with sustained supersonic flight is the generation of heat in flight. At high speeds
aerodynamic heating Aerodynamic heating is the heating of a solid body produced by its high-speed passage through air. In science and engineering, an understanding of aerodynamic heating is necessary for predicting the behaviour of meteoroids which enter the Earth's ...
can occur, so an aircraft must be designed to operate and function under very high temperatures.
Duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...
, a material traditionally used in aircraft manufacturing, starts to lose strength and deform at relatively low temperatures, and is unsuitable for continuous use at speeds above Mach 2.2 to 2.4. Materials such as
titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
and
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
allow operations at much higher temperatures. For example, the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
jet could fly continuously at Mach 3.1 which could lead to temperatures on some parts of the aircraft reaching above 315 °C (600 °F). Another area of concern for sustained high-speed flight is engine operation. Jet engines create thrust by increasing the temperature of the air they ingest, and as the aircraft speeds up, the compression process in the intake causes a temperature rise before it reaches the engines. The maximum allowable temperature of the exhaust is determined by the materials in the
turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...
at the rear of the engine, so as the aircraft speeds up, the difference in intake and exhaust temperature that the engine can create, by burning fuel, decreases, as does the thrust. The higher thrust needed for supersonic speeds had to be regained by burning extra fuel in the exhaust. Intake design was also a major issue. As much of the available energy in the incoming air has to be recovered, known as intake recovery, using
shock waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
in the supersonic compression process in the intake. At supersonic speeds the intake has to make sure that the air slows down without excessive pressure loss. It has to use the correct type of
shock waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
, oblique/plane, for the aircraft design speed to compress and slow the air to subsonic speed before it reaches the engine. The shock waves are positioned using a ramp or cone which may need to be adjustable depending on trade-offs between complexity and the required aircraft performance. An aircraft able to operate for extended periods at supersonic speeds has a potential range advantage over a similar design operating subsonically. Most of the drag an aircraft sees while speeding up to supersonic speeds occurs just below the speed of sound, due to an aerodynamic effect known as
wave drag In aeronautics, wave drag is a component of the aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding flu ...
. An aircraft that can accelerate past this speed sees a significant drag decrease, and can fly supersonically with improved fuel economy. However, due to the way lift is generated supersonically, the
lift-to-drag ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the Lift (force), lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficie ...
of the aircraft as a whole drops, leading to lower range, offsetting or overturning this advantage. The key to having low supersonic drag is to properly shape the overall aircraft to be long and thin, and close to a "perfect" shape, the von Karman ogive or Sears-Haack body. This has led to almost every supersonic cruising aircraft looking very similar to every other, with a very long and slender fuselage and large delta wings, cf.
SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Co ...
,
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
, etc. Although not ideal for passenger aircraft, this shaping is quite adaptable for bomber use. In the 1960s and 1970s, many design studies for supersonic airliners were done and eventually two types entered service, the Soviet
Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic airliner, supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft wit ...
(1968) and Anglo-French
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
(1969). However political, environmental and economic obstacles and one fatal Concorde crash prevented them from being used to their full commercial potential.


Transonic flight

Airflow can speed up or slow down locally at different points over an aircraft. In the region around Mach 1, some areas may experience supersonic flow while others are subsonic. This regime is called transonic flight. As the aircraft speed changes, pressure waves will form or move around. This can affect the trim, stability and controllability of the aircraft, and the aircraft will experience higher drag than subsonic or fully supersonic speeds. The designer needs to ensure that these effects are taken into account at all speeds.


Hypersonic flight

Flight at speeds above about Mach 5 is often referred to as hypersonic. In this region the problems of drag and heating are even more acute. It is difficult to make materials which can stand the forces and temperatures generated by air resistance at these speeds.


Sonic boom

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the
shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
s created whenever an object traveling through the air travels faster than the
speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...
. Sonic booms generate significant amounts of
sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
energy, sounding similar to an
explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
or a
thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
clap to the human ear. The crack of a supersonic
bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...
passing overhead or the crack of a
bullwhip A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or for competition cracking. Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A ...
are examples of a sonic boom in miniature. Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures. They led to prohibition of routine supersonic flight over land. Although they cannot be completely prevented, research suggests that with careful shaping of the vehicle the nuisance due to them may be reduced to the point that overland supersonic flight may become a practical option.


Supercruise

''Supercruise'' is sustained
supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
flight of a supersonic aircraft with a useful cargo, passenger, or weapons load performed efficiently, which typically precludes the use of highly inefficient
afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
s or "reheat". Many well known supersonic
military aircraft A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on su ...
not capable of supercruise can only maintain
Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...
1+ flight in short bursts, typically with afterburners. Aircraft such as the
SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
are designed to cruise at supersonic speed with afterburners enabled. One of the best known examples of an aircraft capable of supercruise was
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
. Due to its long service as a commercial airliner, Concorde holds the record for the most time spent in supercruise; more than all other aircraft combined.


Supersonic transport

A supersonic transport (SST) is a
civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...
aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the
speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...
. The only supersonic civilian aircraft to see service were the Soviet produced
Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic airliner, supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft wit ...
which first flew in 1968 and last transported passengers in 1978, with
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
retiring it from any use in 1997; and the Franco-British produced
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
, which first flew in 1969 and remained in service until 2003. Since 2003, there have been no supersonic civilian aircraft in service. A key feature of these designs is the ability to maintain supersonic cruise for long periods, so low drag is essential to limit fuel consumption to a practical and economic level. As a consequence, these airframes are highly streamlined and the wings have a very short span. The requirement for low speeds when taking off and landing is met by using
vortex lift Vortex lift is that portion of lift due to the action of leading edge vortices. It is generated by wings with highly sweptback, sharp, leading edges (beyond 50 degrees of sweep) or highly-swept wing-root extensions added to a wing of moderate s ...
: as the aircraft slows, lift must be restored by raising the nose to increase the
angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a Airfoil#Airfoil terminology, reference line on a body (often the chord (aircraft), chord line of an airfoil) and the vector (geometry), vector representing the relat ...
of the wing. The sharply swept leading edge causes the air to twist as it flows over the wing, speeding up the airflow locally and maintaining lift. Other SST projects have included: *France –
Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle The Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle was an early design for a supersonic transport. Unlike most competing designs which envisioned larger trans-Atlantic aircraft and led to the likes of the Boeing 2707, the Super-Caravelle was a much smaller, s ...
*Russia-United States –
Sukhoi-Gulfstream S-21 Sukhoi-Gulfstream S-21 was a projected Russian-American supersonic business jet. In the early 1990s, Gulfstream Aerospace and the Sukhoi Design Bureau began a joint effort to develop a supersonic small business jet, code named the S-21. Due to ...
*Soviet Union – Tupolev Tu-244,
Tupolev Tu-444 Tupolev ( rus, Туполев, , ˈtupəlʲɪf), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. UAC Tupolev is successor to the Sovi ...
*United Kingdom – Bristol Type 223 *United States –
Convair Model 58-9 The Convair Model 58-9 was a proposed American supersonic transport, developed by the Convair division of General Dynamics and intended to carry fifty-two passengers at over Mach 2. Derived from the B-58 Hustler bomber, it was designed in 1961 but ...
,
Boeing 2707 The Boeing 2707 was an American supersonic passenger airliner project during the 1960s. After winning a competition for a government-funded contract to build an American supersonic airliner, Boeing began development at its facilities in Seatt ...
,
Lockheed L-2000 The Lockheed L-2000 was Lockheed Corporation's entry in a government-funded competition to build the United States' first supersonic airliner in the 1960s. The L-2000 lost the contract to the Boeing 2707, but that competing design was ultimate ...
, Douglas 2229, SAI Quiet Supersonic Transport, High Speed Civil Transport


Supersonic business jet

Supersonic business jets (SSBJ) are a proposed class of small supersonic aircraft. None have yet flown. Typically intended to transport about ten passengers, SSBJs are about the same size as traditional subsonic business jets. Projects for both large-scale and
business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
(see lower) passenger supersonic and hypersonic airliners (
Aerion SBJ The Aerion SBJ was a supersonic business jet project designed by American firm Aerion Corporation. Unveiled in 2004, the designer sought a joint venture with a business aircraft manufacturer for a $1.2–1.4 billion development in 7–8 years ...
, Spike S-512,
HyperMach SonicStar The SonicStar was a proposed high-supersonic aircraft business jet designed by SonicStar SAS led by Bernard Rousset and motorized by HyperMach. CEO Richard H. Lugg & COO Bernard Rousset first presented the concept at the 2011 Paris Air Show (Le ...
, Next Generation Supersonic Transport,
Tupolev Tu-444 Tupolev ( rus, Туполев, , ˈtupəlʲɪf), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. UAC Tupolev is successor to the Sovi ...
,
Gulfstream X-54 The Gulfstream X-54 is a proposed research and demonstration aircraft, under development in the United States by Gulfstream Aerospace for NASA, that is planned for use in sonic boom and supersonic transport research. Design Initiated during 200 ...
, LAPCAT,
Reaction Engines LAPCAT A2 LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) was a 36-month European FP6 study to examine ways to produce engines for a Mach number 4-8 hypersonic flight aircraft. The project ended in April 2008. It was funded by the European ...
,
Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport The Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport or ZEHST is a planned hypersonic passenger jet airliner project by the multinational aerospace conglomerate EADS and the Japanese national space agency JAXA. On 18 June 2011, the ZEHST concept was unveil ...
,
SpaceLiner SpaceLiner is a concept for a Sub-orbital spaceflight, suborbital, hypersonic, winged passenger supersonic transport, conceived at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, or DLR) in 2005. In its second role the S ...
, etc.) were proposed and now are under development.


Supersonic strategic bombers

A
strategic bomber A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unl ...
must carry a large bomb load over long distances. Consequently, it is a large aircraft typically with an empty weight exceeding 25,000 kg. Some have also been designed for related roles such as strategic reconnaissance and anti-shipping strike. Typically the aircraft will cruise subsonically for most of its flight to conserve fuel, before accelerating to supersonic speed for its bombing run. Few supersonic strategic bombers have entered service. The earliest type, the
Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
, first flew in 1956 and the most recent, the
Rockwell B-1B Lancer The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It has been nicknamed the "Bone" (from "B-One"). , it is one of the United States Air Force's three strategic bombers, along with th ...
, in 1983. Although this and a few other types are still in service today, none remains in production. Types to have flown include: *
Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
(1956) (USA) * Dassault Mirage IV (1959) (France) * Tupolev Tu-22 (1959) (USSR) * General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark (1964) (USA) * Tupolev Tu-22M (1969) (USSR) * Rockwell B-1 Lancer (1974) (USA) * Tupolev Tu-160 (1981) (USSR)


Supersonic strategic reconnaissance

Some supersonic strategic bombers, such as the Sukhoi T-4 are also capable of the reconnaissance role (although the Sukhoi remained a prototype). The
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...
was specifically designed for the role, and was a larger development of the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft which first flew in 1962.


Supersonic fighter/attack jets

Supersonic fighters and related aircraft are sometimes called fast jets. They make up the overwhelming majority of supersonic aircraft and some, such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and Dassault Mirage III, have been produced in large numbers. Many military supersonic fighter aircraft, fighters and similar aircraft of Fourth-generation jet fighter, fourth- and Fifth-generation jet fighter, fifth- generations are under development in several countries, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran and the United States.


United States

* Douglas F4D Skyray (1951) * North American F-100 Super Sabre (1953) * Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (1953) * Grumman F-11 Tiger (1954) * McDonnell F-101 Voodoo (1954) * Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (1954) * Republic F-105 Thunderchief (1955) * Vought F-8 Crusader (1955) * Convair F-106 Delta Dart (1956) * North American A-5 Vigilante (1958) * McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (1958) * Northrop F-5, Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter (1959) * Northrop T-38 Talon (1959) * General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B (1965) * Grumman F-14 Tomcat (1970) * McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (1972) * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (1974) * McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet (1978) * McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (1986) * Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (1995) * Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor (1997) * Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (2006)


Soviet Union/Russia

* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (1953) * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (1955) * Sukhoi Su-7 (1955) * Sukhoi Su-9 (1956) * Sukhoi Su-11 (1958) * Yakovlev Yak-28 (1958) * Yakovlev Yak-27 (1960) * Tupolev Tu-28 (1961) * Sukhoi Su-15 (1962) * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (1964) * Sukhoi Su-17 (1966) * Sukhoi Su-24 (1967) * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (1967) * Mikoyan MiG-27(1970) * Yakovlev Yak-38 (1971) * Mikoyan MiG-31 (1975) * Sukhoi Su-27 (1977) * Mikoyan MiG-29 (1977) * Sukhoi Su-33 (1987) * Sukhoi Su-30 (1989) * Sukhoi Su-34 (1990) * Mikoyan MiG-35 (2007) * Sukhoi Su-35 (2008) * Sukhoi Su-57 (2010)


China

* Shenyang J-6 Farmer (1958) * Nanchang Q-5 Fantan (1965) * Chengdu J-7 Fishbed (1966) * Shenyang J-8 (1969) * Xian JH-7 Flounder (1988) * Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (1998) * Shenyang J-11 (1998) * Hongdu L-15, Nanchang/Hongdu L-15 (2005) * Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark (2009) * Chengdu J-20 stealth (2011) * Shenyang J-16 (2012)


France

*Dassault Super Mystère, Dassault Super Mystère B1 (1955) *Dassault Mirage III (1956) *Dassault Mirage F1 (1966) *Dassault Mirage 5 (1967) *Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (1974) *Dassault Mirage 2000 (1978) *Dassault Rafale (1986)


Sweden

* Saab 32 Lansen (1952) * Saab 35 Draken (1955) * Saab 37 Viggen (1967) * Saab JAS 39 Gripen (1988)


Iran

* HESA Azarakhsh (1997) * HESA Saeqeh (2004) * IAIO Qaher-313 (2013)


Japan

* Mitsubishi T-2 (1971) * Mitsubishi F-1 (1975) * Mitsubishi F-2 (1995)


India

* HAL HF-24 Marut (1961) * HAL Tejas (2001)


Israel

* IAI Nesher (1971) * IAI Kfir (1973)


South Korea

* KAI T-50 Golden Eagle (2002) * KAI KF-21 Boramae (2022)


United Kingdom

* English Electric Lightning (1954)


France/United Kingdom

* SEPECAT Jaguar (1968)


Germany/Italy/United Kingdom

* Panavia Tornado (1974)


Germany/Italy/Spain/United Kingdom

* Eurofighter Typhoon (1994)


Pakistan

* PAC JF-17 Thunder (2003)


South Africa

* Atlas Cheetah (1986)


Taiwan

* AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo (1989)


Supersonic research aircraft

*
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces– U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by B ...
(1946) (USA), first to break the sound barrier in level flight. Rocket powered. * Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket (1948) (USA), Rocket powered. * Convair XF-92 (1948) (USA), First delta-wing supersonic jet. * Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor (1949) (USA), mixed power * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-350 (1951) (USSR), It was the first Soviet aircraft able to maintain supersonic speed. * Bell X-2 (1952) (USA), Rocket powered. * Convair F2Y Sea Dart (1953) (USA), only seaplane to exceed speed of sound * SNCASO Trident (1953) (France), French supersonic twin engine research aircraft. * Fairey Delta 2 (1954) (UK), first to exceed 1,000 miles per hour. * Nord Gerfaut (1954) (France), French built delta wing supersonic research aircraft. * Nord 1500 Griffon (1955, 1957) (France), Griffon 1 flew in 1955, Griffon 2 flew in 1957, experimental mixed turbojet-ramjet fighter. * SNCASE SE.212 Durandal (1956) (France), experimental French built delta wing supersonic fighter. * Douglas F5D Skylancer (1956) (USA). * Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger (1956) (USA). * North American F-107 (1956) (USA). * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-3 (1956) (USSR), Jet fighter prototype. * Sukhoi T-3 (1956) (USSR). * Leduc 0.22, Leduc 022 (1957) (France). * Sukhoi P-1 (1957) (USSR). * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-7 (1957) (USSR), Jet fighter prototype. * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-75 (1957) (USSR), Jet fighter prototype. * Saunders-Roe SR.53 (1957) (UK), experimental mixed power jet fighter. * Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow (1958) (Canada). * Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III (1958) (USA). * North American X-15 (1959) (USA), first
hypersonic aircraft Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about at Hypersonic speed, speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where Dissociation (chemistry), dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Spe ...
and spaceplane. Rocket powered. * Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150 family (1959, 1960, 1961) (USSR). * Myasishchev M-50 (1959) (USSR). * Sukhoi T-49 (1960) (USSR). * Dassault Mirage IIIV, Dassault Mirage III V (1961) (France). * Bristol 188 (1962) (UK), British supersonic research aircraft. * Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-8 (1962) (USSR), Jet fighter prototype. * Lockheed NF-104A (1963) (USA), Modified F-104 Starfighter used for training astronauts for North American X-15 and Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar programs. * Lockheed YF-12 (1963) (USA). * EWR VJ 101 (1963) (Germany). * BAC TSR-2 (1964) (UK). * North American XB-70 Valkyrie (1964) (USA). * Helwan HA-300 (1964) (Egypt). * General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B (1965) (USA). * Northrop HL-10 (1966) (USA), rocket powered. * Martin Marietta X-24A (1969) (USA), rocket powered. * Northrop M2-F3 (1970) (USA), rocket powered. * Nanchang J-12 (1970) (China). * Dassault Mirage G (1971) (France). * Sukhoi T-4 (1972) (USSR). * Northrop YF-17 (1974) (USA). * Dassault Mirage 4000 (1979) (France). * General Dynamics F-16XL (1982) (USA), modified F-16, delta wing test demonstrator * Northrop F-20 Tigershark (1982) (USA). * Grumman X-29 (1984) (USA). * British Aerospace EAP (1986) (UK). * IAI Lavi (1986) (Israel). * Yakovlev Yak-141 (1987) (USSR). * McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD (1988) (USA), heavily modified F-15 used in several NASA test programs including, STOL/MTD, ACTIVE, IFCS, Quiet Spike, SBRDC/ECANS, and HISTEC. * Vought YA-7F (1989) (USA). * Lockheed YF-22 (1990) (USA). * Northrop YF-23 (1990) (USA). * Rockwell-MBB X-31 (1990) (USA). * IAI Nammer (1991) (Israel). * General Dynamics F-16 VISTA (1992) (USA), modified F-16, thrust vector control demonstrator. * Sukhoi Su-37 (1996) (Russia). * Sukhoi Su-47 (1997) (Russia). * Mikoyan Project 1.44 (2000) (Russia). * Lockheed Martin X-35 (2000) (USA). * Boeing X-32 (2000) (USA). * Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (2003) (USA). * SpaceShipOne (2003) (USA), first privately designed space plane * NASA X-43 (2004) (USA), scramjet powered demonstrator * Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (2006) (USA), modified F-18, wing warping demonstrator. Was also used as the High Alpha Research Vehicle and more recent sonic boom research. * Boeing X-51 Waverider (2010) (USA), scramjet powered demonstrator * Shenyang J-31, Shenyang J-21/J-31 Gyrfalcon (2012) (China). * Lockheed Martin Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, X-59 QueSST (2018) (USA), commissioned by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...


See also

* Sound barrier


References

;Bibliography * ;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Supersonic Aircraft Supersonic aircraft,