This Hypersonic Hydrogen-Powered Jet Travels at Mach 5 and Will Fly from Europe to Australia in Just 4 Hours

Ever since the days of the concorde, we have dreamed of flying across the Atlantic at supersonic speeds, cutting the flight time between New York and Lonodon in half. With the end of the concorde era, supersonic travel seemed that it would be relegated to the past. However, Boom Supersonic Overture Jet along with several other startups have managed to once again ressurrect the idea of supersonic travel.

What if we could surpass supersonic travel and travel at hypersonic speeds? With the advent of of hydrogen fuel cell technology, hypersonic travel has moved from science fiction to reality. This hypersonic hydrogen-powered jet named “Eiger” promises to cut flight time between Europe and Australia down to just 4 hours.

Designed by Swiss start-up Destinus, the Eiger jet will travel at five times the speed of sound or Mach 5. What’s even more astounding is that this aircraft is not a conept but already exists as a prototype that has flown several successful test flights.

Eiger is the company’s second prototype and its packed with high-technology from sensors to satellite navigation systems and a litany of other instruments and cameras to collect data during test flights. The next prototype is expected to be larger and more cabable than the current Eiger prototype.

Destinus says the aircraft will “challenge the limits of time, space, sustainability and human potential”. The desire to cut flight times between Frankfurt to Sydney from 20 hours to just 4 hours is an ambitious goal the company has set, but doable.

The company plans to continue testing the Eiger prototype and with a recently received grant from the Spanish government, they intend to construct a test facility near Madrid which will test air-breathing hydrogren engines.