Spike Aerospace: FAA Supersonic NPRM Steps Toward New Era

Supersonic business jet hopeful Spike Aerospace is hailing last week’s release of the FAA notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on supersonic flight over land as taking a step closer to making such operations a reality. The NPRM, Spike added, marked the “first significant modernization of U.S. regulations governing civil supersonic flight in more than 50 years” and “represents meaningful progress toward a vision that has guided our company since its founding.”

Release of the NPRM is critical for Spike, Boom, and other potential entrants in a niche long stalled in the civil aviation market. Spike has been designing a Mach 1.6 S-512 Diplomat business jet that could take to the skies later this decade with potential service entry in the early 2030s.

The company praised the FAA’s approach of shifting toward a performance-based framework that recognizes aircraft technology advances while balancing noise concerns of the community below. “Although the FAA’s proposal does not authorize unrestricted commercial operations, it acknowledges that advances in aerodynamics, propulsion, computational modeling, and aircraft design justify reexamining regulations written for another era,” it said.

Spike further stressed that the proposal is not a destination but a step toward a modern regulatory framework. Released on June 30, the proposal is out for comment until August 17. Covering only supersonic cruise over land, the NPRM would permit these operations without a special authorization if sonic boom overpressure at the surface stays no higher than 0.11 pounds per square foot. Proposed landing and takeoff standards are anticipated later this year, with the goal of finalizing both rules by mid-2027.

By relying on a performance-based framework, the NPRM encourages innovation based on that measurable performance, Spike maintained, but noted that it preserves rigorous certification for sonic boom, airport noise, and environmental emissions.

The company called the FAA’s initial prohibitions “the most practical solution,” reflecting the technologies of that time. But some 50 years later, that has changed with the use of computational fluid dynamics, advanced acoustic modeling, artificial intelligence, digital engineering, high-performance computing, and new manufacturing techniques, all of which provide a better understanding of aircraft noise, Spike added.

However, Spike also acknowledged that public acceptance will determine the success of supersonic flight over land. This makes the attention that the NPRM pays to Mach cutoff particularly important to ensure that shock waves generated by supersonic flight refract upward before reaching the ground.