Supersonic AS2 Is Just a Starting Point for Aerion

As Aerion Supersonic targets the middle of this decade for the first flight of its AS2 supersonic business jet and service entry by 2027, the company is taking a multi-decade view of its business plan with aspirations to build an AS3 that would dwarf the size of the business jet, move into hybrid and all-electric power, and eventually offer hypersonic aircraft. All the while, its Aerion Connect initiative would enable an ecosystem approach for the customer to reach the destination from door-to-door, rather than airport-to-airport.

Speaking during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum in June, Aerion Supersonic chairman, president, and CEO Tom Vice outlined this vision, saying, “We believe that we are building a future where humanity can travel between any two major city pairs within three hours. We know this is going to take a multi-decade approach [involving] hard technical challenges…It’s about building an entire ecosystem not just the airplane from point to point.”

To achieve that goal, Vice told AIN in a statement, “there are several technical inventions and new mobility innovations we are working on.” These involve new airframe materials that can withstand the high temperatures and stresses of near-hypersonic and hypersonic flight while being able to withstand the rigors required for commercial flight and propulsion systems and fuel technologies that will provide the necessary specific energy at the necessary energy density while meeting the company’s carbon neutrality plans.

Describing supersonic as Aerion’s “starting point,” Vice updated the efforts on the Mach 1.4 AS2 business jet, which is powered by GE Aviation's new Affinity engine, saying it has “made significant progress” in the last two years. However, preliminary design review has been pushed into 2021 and the first flight timeline has slid on the $120 million, 12-place aircraft with plans to fly it from the company’s new complex that will be built in Melbourne, Florida, in 2025, with certification following within two years. “The pandemic has slowed us down a bit,” he said.

The company added in a statement that "In light of the impact of COVID-19 on our industry... we have taken proactive measures on reprioritizing workflow to maintain continuity on the AS2 program." Even so, Vice indicated plans to step up engineering hiring later this year or early next in multiple disciplines.

Plans call for use of five flight-test aircraft for the program with production kicking off in 2023. Aerion Supersonic, meanwhile, has continued to build out its supplier partners for the program, recently adding Collins Aerospace to the lineup. Collins Aerospace's Actuation Systems centers in Wolverhampton, UK, and Vernon, France, will design and develop flight control actuation systems, including for the AS2's leading-edge, elevons, horizontal stabilizer, and rudder.

“The very nature of supersonic travel presents some unique challenges when it comes to designing reliable and precise systems to guide the aircraft—and we are eager to address them head-on as a part of the Aerion team,” said Ed Dryden, v-p of Actuation Systems for Collins Aerospace. “Collins Aerospace has a long history in advancing complex actuation systems for both commercial and military platforms, and we look forward to continuing this legacy with the AS2.”

Collins Aerospace joins a supplier team for the AS2 that includes GE Aviation, Honeywell, Safran, GKN Aerospace, Aernnova, and Potez Aeronautique. In addition, Spirit AeroSystems has collaborated on the program, as has Boeing, which in 2019 made an undisclosed investment in Aerion.

Aerion anticipates beginning production in 2023, with first flight in 2025 and entry-into-service in the 2027 timeframe. The company expects to manufacture 300 of the Mach 1.4 business jet in the first decade of production.

While now shorter, the recent redesign of the AS2 preserved cabin space, which he said will equate to that of a Bombardier Global 6500 or a Gulfstream G600, have the “quietest cabin in the industry and lowest cabin altitude,” and be equipped with amenities such as OLED surfaces, immersive high-fidelity sound with 4k/8k video, large dimmable windows, and “ultra-fast” connectivity.

Aerion already sees a sizeable market for the airplane, particularly from large fractional and other business aviation services providers, including Flexjet, its largest and launch customer. He also sees a market from NetJets, VistaJet, and Wheels Up, along with high-net-worth individuals, heads of state, and corporations, although Vice said that he believes the latter is trending now more toward fractional and other models rather than whole ownership.

Aerion, citing a potential $40 billion market for the AS2, now has a $3.18 billion order backlog and is in discussions for orders valued at another $6.2 billion, he said. Plans call to build 300 of the type in its first decade of production.

With a strong emphasis on sustainability, the aircraft will be built to run 100 percent on synthetic fuels, as well as traditional fuels. On the synthetic side, Aerion is focused on the use of direct air capture technology that converts carbon dioxide from the air into usable fuels. “The technology really is huge,” he said. This approach enables factories to have smaller footprints and to be built and accessible anywhere, Vice said, but conceded the cost of the final product is still an issue.

Longer range, Aerion would like to push into full electric for its product lines, but Vice said a hybrid-electric approach would likely be the next logical step. While not detailing its next product, he did show an overlay of the AS3, likely a much larger commercial airplane. Aerion also is in discussions about military applications.

Much further out, Aerion sees possibilities for hypersonics and said progress has been made on reaching near hypersonic in the range in the Mach 4 to 4.5 range. This speed is the ultimate vision of getting passengers anywhere around the world within three hours, Vice said.

As far as the ecosystem, Aerion has established an Aerion Connect strategy that looks at transportation means such as the use of eVTOLs to get customers to and from the airport to provide a smoother, faster experience from beginning to end.

“Through our Aerion Connect strategy we are building out a point of departure to point of destination ecosystem,” Vice said. “It isn’t enough to solve the flight time between two airports if the travel time from a city’s downtown to the airport is an hour. Our goal is to solve the whole travel time problem.”

Aerion took a step toward building such infrastructure through a partnership agreement with international business aviation services provider Jetex. As a preferred partner, Jetex will coordinate with Aerion to provide personalized travel arrangements at its private terminals to ensure a “seamless experience” for AS2 customers. The companies will also collaborate on efforts to encourage broad adoption of synthetic fuels.

Working with Aerion, international flight support and FBO group Jetex plans to unveil a suite of services tailored specifically for the launch of AS2. “Since the retirement of the Concorde in 2003, the world has been eagerly waiting to return to the supersonic skies,” he said. “Two decades later, we look forward to welcoming the first passengers traveling aboard AS2 at Jetex private jet terminals around the world,” said Jetex founder and CEO Adel Mardini.