Next Generation Supersonic Transport

{{Update|date=January 2016}}

{{Infobox Aircraft Begin |name = Next Generation Supersonic Transport |image = |caption = }} {{Infobox Aircraft Type |type = Supersonic transport |designer = JAXA |manufacturer = |status = Testing |first flight = |produced = 0 |primary user = |more users = |number built = 0 |program cost = |unit cost = }}

The Next Generation Supersonic Transport is a supersonic transport (SST) technology development program run by the Japanese Space Agency JAXA. The original goal was to produce by 2015 a new aircraft designed to carry three times as many passengers as the Concorde, and fly at a similar Mach 2 speed of {{convert|1522|mph|kph|order=flip}}, with twice the range. The goal is also to achieve a ticket price comparable to that of subsonic business class. An 11.5-meter prototype was tested in October 2005.{{cite news |title=Japanese supersonic airliner is go |work=The Register |date=October 10, 2005 |first=Lester |last=Haines |url=https://www.theregister.com/2005/10/10/sst_test/ |access-date=November 11, 2008}}

One of the most crucial factors in the commercial viability of a supersonic transport is the strength of the sonic boom it generates. The boom created by Concorde was powerful enough to prevent the aircraft from flying supersonically over land, which eliminated many possible passenger routes and contributed to the cancellation of Concorde's American rival, the Boeing 2707. In 2008, JAXA announced it would collaborate with NASA to conduct joint research on sonic boom modeling.{{Citation |title=Sonic E |date=May 9, 2008 |place=Japan |publisher=JAXA |type=press release |url= http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/05/20080509_sonic_e.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180110110803/http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2008/05/20080509_sonic_e.html |archive-date=10 January 2018 |url-status=dead}} The collaboration started the "Re-BooT" project in October 2024, to test a wing surface technology developed to reduce sonic boom on new aircraft designs.{{Cite web |title=Sky Green+ Re-BooT Project |work=Aviation Technology Directorate |publisher=JAXA |publication-place=Japan |date=December 6, 2024 |url= https://www.aero.jaxa.jp/eng/research/frontier/sst/reboot.html |access-date=20 May 2025 }}

JAXA is also researching hypersonic transport, at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or {{convert|3806|mph|kph|order=flip}}, though the goal is not for its use in commercial aircraft to be cost competitive with current aircraft.{{Citation |title=Supersonic Transport Team |place=Japan |publisher=JAXA |work=Aviation Program Group |url= http://www.apg.jaxa.jp/eng/research/stt/stt-index.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100218184901/http://www.apg.jaxa.jp/eng/research/stt/stt-index.html |archive-date=18 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}