China is building a Mach 16 hypersonic plane that could circle the globe in just seven hours
- A Chinese company is developing a Mach-16 jet
- It could make circling the world in under seven hours possible
- The first maiden flight is set to take place in 2027
Published on May 13, 2025 at 2:29 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on May 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
China is building a Mach 16 hypersonic plane that could circle the globe in just seven hours.
Beijing-based Lingkong Tianxing has already flown its Yunxing prototype at Mach 4, the equivalent of 3,069MPH.
The company is hoping to launch a commercial maiden flight by 2027.
It’s hoped that once speeds reach Mach 16, a London-to-New York flight could be reduced to a mere 90 minutes.
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Innovations in airplanes are happening all the time.
The Concorde itself was a huge accomplishment, paving the way for supersonic airplane travel.
We’ve seen a ton of people trying to recreate this business model ever since.
There was the A•HyM from Oscar Viñals, capable of traveling more than five times the speed of sound.
NASA has also been working on its own projects, like the X-59 aircraft.
And over in China, similar projects are getting off the ground, so to speak.
Chinese aerospace giant Cormac has been developing a jet that would be quieter than a car when traveling at Mach 1.
Beijing-based Lingkong Tianxing is working on its own project – a plane that could traverse the world in seven hours.
If this endeavor worked out, it would be the first supersonic airliner to fly passengers since Concorde ceased flying back in 2003.
Travelling at speeds of 3,000MPH, the plane could cross the Atlantic and slim a trip from London to New York down to a mere 90 minutes.
By way of comparison, it currently takes nearly eight hours to make such a journey.
The Concorde was managing this journey in just under three hours – so this new jet would be an improvement on that.
Lingkong Tianxing reported that the Yunxing had undergone a successful flight back in October, with further engine tests planned for November.
If you can believe it, there are even jets out there that could potentially outpace the Yunxing.
Venus Aerospace is working on one that would reach the Big Apple from London in just one hour.
Ever notice how that’s always the benchmark for these projects – how fast it would take to get from one side of the Atlantic to the other?
At any rate, it’s exciting to know that so many of these planes are potentially coming up the pipeline.
If all goes as planned, 2027 should be an exciting year for air travel.
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