Having breakfast in Paris and lunch in Tokyo on the same day without spending half the day on a plane? The idea still seems like science fiction, but it could gradually become a reality. In Japan, researchers are currently working on a hypersonic aircraft that aims to drastically reduce travel times between continents. Ultimately, the stated goal is to connect Paris to Tokyo in about three hours, compared to nearly thirteen today.
Paris to Tokyo in 3 hours? See you in 2040
The project is led by JAXA, the Japanese space agency, in collaboration with several universities in the country. In recent weeks, a major milestone has been reached: the teams have conducted tests on the engine designed to power this future aircraft. The initial tests, carried out at the Kakuda Space Center, proved to be quite successful.
The stakes are high because we’re no longer talking about supersonic aircraft like the Concorde, but hypersonic ones. That means speeds exceeding 5,000 km/h, far beyond the capabilities of current commercial airliners. By way of comparison, a commercial aircraft typically flies at around 900 km/h.
For these initial tests, researchers used a two-meter-long experimental prototype. The test conditions simulated a flight at Mach 5 at an altitude of approximately 25 kilometers—significantly higher than that of conventional commercial aircraft.
According to initial results, the combustion and thermal resistance observed during testing met the researchers’ expectations. An encouraging step, even if there is still a long way to go before we can imagine passengers on board.
Even in the most optimistic scenario, we’ll still have to wait: the first commercial flights aren’t expected before 2040. But if the technology lives up to its promises, it could completely reshape the landscape of long-distance air travel, for both business and tourism.
After the Concorde, a new aviation revolution may well be on the horizon… this time at over 5,000 km/h.