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IPFS News Link • Contractors, Government & Military

Pentagon takes first step toward building supersonic Air Force One

• https://www.washingtontimes.com By Ben Wolfgang

The U.S. Air Force recently awarded a contract to the aviation firm Exosonic to begin developing a presidential aircraft that can travel at supersonic speeds. The research award, reportedly worth $1 million, will fund work to "modify" Exosonic's existing plans for a supersonic commercial plane into a proposal for a presidential-grade aircraft.

In a Twitter post this week, the Air Force's Life Cycle Management Center said the contract is intended to "develop a low-boom supersonic executive transport aircraft that will allow key decision makers and teams to travel around the world in half the time it takes now!"

The current version of Air Force One, a Boeing 747-200B series aircraft, can travel at a maximum speed of .84 mach, according to Boeing.

Dramatically increasing that speed could fundamentally change the nature of presidential travel and make international trips much quicker and easier.


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