Aerion's AS2 supersonic business jet is about 60 percent faster than today's fastest business aircraft and airliners. Supersonic cruise speed is Mach 1.4, or more than 1,000 mph. It saves as much as three hours across the Atlantic and more than five hours across the Pacific.
In early 2017, the company announced a collaboration with GE Aviation to define a new supersonic engine for the AS2. In December of 2017, Aerion and Lockheed Martin announced that they were joining forces to develop the AS2. Aerion's engineering team is working in close collaboration with Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program organization, better known as its famed Skunk Works advanced design team.
Aerion is the leader in new supersonic technologies, pioneering improved aerodynamics for the design of efficient supersonic aircraft. Over nearly two decades, Aerion has been testing and refining new concepts in high-speed flight. These tests have been accomplished with support from NASA, The European Transonic Wind Tunnel, Sandia National Labs, and other leading aeronautical institutions.
Aerion has built a portfolio of dozens of patents related to high-speed aerodynamics. It has introduced and proven the drag reducing benefits of supersonic natural laminar flow (SNLF). It has improved supersonic efficiency, which reduces cost of operation and improves range. These advances are embodied in the AS2, which is slated to make its first flight in 2023 and enter service in 2025.