NASA just got a boost in its quest to unlock 'quiet' supersonic flight with a pair of retired F-15 jets from the U.S. Air Force.
The former fighter jets are the newest members of the agency's flight research fleet, which is headquartered at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California's Mojave Desert. The F-15s will now be used to support research flights of NASA's new X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet, an aircraft designed to fly at supersonic speeds without producing the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with breaking the sound barrier. If such an aircraft can be built and commercialized, it could dramatically decrease flight times across the continental U.S. and revolutionize several industries that depend on rapid response times.
