China to test supersonic jet, aims to cut Beijing-Shanghai travel time by 75% for 1,075-km trip

China is preparing a new stage of testing for its TMS-10 supersonic aircraft, a demonstrator designed to explore technology for quieter high-speed passenger travel. The aircraft is in its final assembly and integration phase, with a supersonic test flight expected around the end of 2026, according to the Global Times, which cited CCTV News and the Tianmushan Laboratory. The technology is being developed with the longer-term goal of enabling a 10- to 15-seat aircraft that could potentially cut travel time between Beijing and Shanghai from about two hours to 30 minutes.

Developed by Tianmushan Laboratory, with support from Beihang University, TMS-10 is intended to demonstrate how an aircraft can travel at supersonic speeds while reducing the intensity of the sonic boom. The programme is focused not only on speed but also on aerodynamic efficiency and the management of shock waves generated as the aircraft passes through the sound barrier.

Also Read: Xi Jingping suffered stroke, fainted during BRICS 2026 summit? China Democratic Party claims military helicopter transported him directly to Beijing's Army Hospital

TMS-10 targets Mach 2 while also being designed for subsonic flight

The TMS-10 configuration has been optimised for a cruise speed of Mach 2 as well as a subsonic cruise around Mach 0.95. At Mach 2, the aircraft is expected to reach about 2,470 kilometres per hour, while its subsonic speed of Mach 0.95 corresponds to roughly 1,173 kilometres per hour.

The current aircraft is an experimental demonstrator rather than a passenger service aircraft. Tianmushan Laboratory has completed the overall design of a 10- to 15-seat supersonic business aircraft intended for business travel and high-end tourism, with TMS-10 providing a platform to validate elements of that design.

The laboratory has already completed aerodynamic wind-tunnel testing, flight-control law design and airframe manufacturing. A smaller, 1:18-scale demonstrator conducted its first low-speed flight on June 30, 2025, reaching less than Mach 0.2. That test examined its low-speed takeoff and landing characteristics as well as stability and control.

China’s low-boom design uses shock-wave management

A major challenge for civil supersonic aircraft is the sonic boom produced when pressure waves generated around an aircraft merge into powerful shock waves. The TMS-10 approach seeks to prevent those waves from combining in the first place and to weaken and spread them before they reach the ground.

The aircraft uses a three-surface aerodynamic arrangement with a T-tail. According to Tianmushan Laboratory, the forward canard helps prevent shock waves generated around the nose and wings from merging, while the T-tail redistributes the waves around the rear of the aircraft. The intended result is a more dispersed and weaker pressure signature on the ground.

Alongside the low-boom target, the design is also being developed to reduce aerodynamic drag, allowing the aircraft to maintain high-speed performance more efficiently. During the planned supersonic test, developers will examine the aircraft's behaviour as it crosses the sound barrier and measure the sonic boom it generates.

NASA’s X-59 follows a different approach to quieter supersonic flight

China's work comes alongside NASA's X-59, another experimental aircraft designed to address the noise problem associated with supersonic travel. NASA's aircraft is being developed under its Quesst mission and is designed to produce a quieter sonic "thump" rather than the conventional loud sonic boom. NASA's X-59 has already entered supersonic testing and reached Mach 1.4 during a June 2026 flight at 55,000 feet.

The two projects take different aerodynamic approaches to the same broad problem. TMS-10's design seeks to prevent shock waves from merging and redistribute them, while NASA's X-59 has been shaped to reduce the strength of the sound signature generated by the aircraft.

NASA's programme is also aimed at collecting data that could eventually help inform future rules governing commercial supersonic flights over land. The X-59 is continuing performance testing before moving into the phase in which researchers will evaluate the aircraft's quieter sonic signature over communities.

Supersonic passenger aircraft still face major engineering challenges

The planned TMS-10 test will examine more than simply whether the aircraft can exceed the speed of sound. Developers also plan to study its supersonic cruise performance, sonic-boom characteristics, transonic flight controls and the combined aerodynamic behaviour of the aircraft and propulsion system.

Moving from an experimental demonstrator to a passenger-carrying aircraft would require additional development. Tianmushan Laboratory said further work would include a variable-cycle propulsion system, additional optimisation between supersonic efficiency and low-boom performance, a larger demonstrator weighing about 10 tonnes and validation of key structural components.

Civilian supersonic flight also presents challenges beyond speed and noise. Larger passenger aircraft require structures and materials capable of handling the conditions created by sustained high-speed flight, while fuel use, maintenance, operating costs, reliability, safety and passenger comfort would all have to be addressed.

For now, TMS-10 remains at the technology-demonstration stage. Its upcoming supersonic test is intended to provide data on the aircraft's aerodynamic configuration and low-boom technology, while the results could contribute to later efforts to develop larger supersonic passenger aircraft.