When the experimental XB-1 aircraft achieved supersonic speeds on a test flight, it did not create a disruptive sonic boom – thanks to a physics phenomenon called the Mach cutoff

Boom Supersonic says its XB-1 aircraft achieved supersonic flight without an audible sonic boom on the ground below. CEO Blake Scholl hopes supersonic passenger flight will eventually be allowed in the U.

During the second supersonic flight of the XB-1 technology demonstrator today, the jet exceeded Mach 1 three times without a boom being detected by microphones on the desert floor below.

In January, the aircraft successfully broke the sound barrier for the first time, reaching speeds exceeding Mach 1 at an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet. The XB-1 took off f