Supersonic Airliner Technology Advances; Beijing to Shanghai Could Take Only Half an Hour

At the China Aeronautical Science and Technology Conference in Wuxi, Jiangsu, the 2026 major scientific and technological issues in aviation were released, with supersonic airliners in focus. NASA's X-59 has completed low-boom supersonic test flights, and China's Tianmushan Laboratory demonstrator plans a supersonic test flight by the end of this year, targeting a sonic boom under 80 decibels. Supersonic airliners face technical bottlenecks including long-duration supersonic endurance, engine fuel consumption, and sonic boom. Conventional airliners fly at about 900 km/h, while supersonic airliners need to reach 1.5 to 2.0 times the speed of sound. Industry estimates suggest at least 20 year…