Japan Develops Hypersonic Passenger Jet Capable of Mach 5

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced progress on a hypersonic passenger jet that could travel at Mach 5, which is approximately five times the speed of sound. This speed is 2.5 times faster than the Concorde, which operated until 2003 and had a maximum speed of about Mach 2. The experimental aircraft was tested in a ramjet engine facility at JAXA’s Kakuda Space Center in Miyagi Prefecture. The tests validated the aircraft's thermal protection system, control surfaces, and ramjet combustion performance under hypersonic conditions. Future phases may involve launching the aircraft on a sounding rocket for real-world flight demonstrations. If successful, the aircraft could reduce flight time from Tokyo to the US to approximately two hours, compared to the current half-day duration. Experts estimate that developing a hypersonic passenger aircraft could take about 20 years, as it requires multiple stages of testing and validation.