Zac Aubert

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a sweeping policy shift aimed at dismantling decades-old aviation barriers, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has officially issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to enable commercial supersonic flights across the continental United States.

The proposal marks the first concrete regulatory step toward repealing a 53-year blanket prohibition established in 1973, which barred non-military aircraft from exceeding the speed of sound over land due to the disruptive shock waves of sonic booms. By replacing speed limits with a performance-based standard, the Trump administration aims to foster a new generation of high-speed civil aviation.

The 0.11 PSF Boundary: Shifting From Speed to Sonic Performance

The proposed framework, titled “Enabling Supersonic Overland Flight,” establishes an interim noise-based operating certification standard. Rather than enforcing a rigid cap on Mach numbers, the FAA will judge incoming aircraft strictly on their physical sound signatures at ground level.

According to the 63-page draft rule published in the Federal Register, commercial operators will be legally permitted to fly at Mach 1 and above over U.S. soil under a specific condition: the aircraft’s sonic boom overpressure at the surface must not exceed 0.11 pounds per square foot (psf). 

Credit: Boom Aerospace

At 0.11 psf, a supersonic aircraft passing overhead at 55,000 feet will completely eliminate the thunderous, window-rattling boom of 20th-century aircraft like the Concorde. Instead, the acoustic footprint at ground level will register as a faint, muffled “sonic thump”; structurally comparable to the sound of a standard car door slamming roughly 20 feet away.

Dual-Rule Rollout Targets Mid-2027 Finalization

To give aerospace manufacturers the concrete regulatory certainty needed to finalize multi-million dollar airframe designs, the Department of Transportation is executing a coordinated dual-rule strategy.

The regulatory roadmap directly fulfills Executive Order 14304, *Leading the World in Supersonic Flight*, signed by President Donald Trump.

[Rule 1: Enroute Sonic Boom Overpressure Standard] ──> [Rule 2 (Late 2026): Airport Takeoff & Landing Noise] ──> [Mid-2027 Finalization Goal]

“Restoring supersonic flight over land isn’t just about speed, it’s about unleashing American innovation and ushering in a Golden Age of Travel…Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are working at lightning speed to safely enable the next quantum leap in aviation technology and deliver an exciting new way to fly to the American flying public.” – Sean P. Duffy , Transportation Secretary

Leveraging NASA’s X-59 and Mach Cutoff Avionics

The regulatory pivot relies heavily on breakthrough flight-testing data gathered across government and commercial sectors over the last year.

NASA’s X-59 Quesst: Developed alongside Lockheed Martin, this specialized research aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time in early June 2026, reaching Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet. Its needle-nosed geometry prevents shock waves from coalescing into an explosive boom, providing the empirical foundation for the FAA’s new 0.11 psf standard.

The “Mach Cutoff” Phenomenon: Commercial startup Boom Supersonic is leveraging specialized autopilot avionics to scale a technique where atmospheric conditions, speed, and high altitudes work in tandem to naturally bend and refract sonic waves backward into the upper atmosphere before they ever reach the ground.

Credit: Boom Aerospace

“Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, noise reduction, and new operational concepts will eliminate the old sonic boom…This means we can ultimately repeal the ban from the 1970s on supersonic flight over U.S. territory while minimizing noise impacts to residents in communities along the route and near airports.”

– FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

Geopolitical Dominance and the Race for Global Standards

The White House is framing the regulatory overhaul as a critical geopolitical checkpoint to ensure American aerospace primes outpace international competitors. Alongside domestic guidelines, the FAA is actively collaborating with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to secure international aviation safety agreements, laying the groundwork for frictionless cross-border supersonic flight corridors.

“This is how America wins, by moving at the speed of our innovators…For too long, outdated rules held back our engineers and manufacturers. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are clearing the runway for supersonic flight, strengthening our industrial base, creating high-skilled jobs, and ensuring the future of aviation is invented and built in America.”

– Michael Kratsios, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The FAA has officially opened a 45-day public comment window for the proposed rule, aiming to compile feedback from industry stakeholders, environmental agencies, and municipal authorities before codifying the final law next year.