Boom Supersonic, an aerospace company building the world’s fastest civil aircraft, has reached an agreement with Rolls-Royce to explore the pairing of a Rolls-Royce propulsion system with Boom’s flagship supersonic passenger aircraft, Overture.

The two companies will work together to develop the propulsion system that would complement Boom’s Overture airframe which will involve teams from Boom and Rolls-Royce collaborating on engine-airframe matching activities. They will also examine certain key aspects of the propulsion system.

Blake Scholl, Boom founder and CEO, said: “We have had a series of valuable collaborations and co-locations with Rolls-Royce over the past years to lay the groundwork for this next phase of development. We look forward to building on the progress and rapport that we have already built with our collaboration as we work to refine Overture’s design and bring sustainable supersonic transport to passenger travel.”

Simon Carlisle, Rolls-Royce director of strategy, said: “We share a strong interest in supersonic flight and in sustainability strategies for aviation with Boom. We’re now building on our valuable experience in this space as well as our previous work together to further match and refine our engine technology for Boom’s Overture.”

As a result of this collaboration, the two companies expect to make significant progress towards finalising Overture’s aircraft configuration and propulsion system.