Comac C949: China’s Supersonic Jet Plans Just Got Real

The competition between the US and China just got more intense with the unveiling of the Comac C949 blueprint. In March 2025, a press release from the Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturing firm revealed the plans to develop this Concorde competitor.

China’s Comac C949 Could Change Air Travel Forever

China is developing a commercial aircraft that can fly 1.6 times faster than the speed of sound and reach 6,800 miles in a single flight. If you’re familiar with the aircraft industry, you’ll realize that these figures are Concorde-like features, meaning that China will be in rare air indeed.

The figures above outshine those of the Concorde, the Anglo-French aircraft was capable of flying twice the speed of sound. This means the Concorde might be faster than the Comac C949 that China is currently preparing to build.

However, the Concorde is only capable of flying 4500 miles in a single trip, placing it behind the coming Comac C949 aircraft. This superfast aircraft from China will also be much quieter than the Concorde.

On paper, the Comac C949 will produce sonic booms of 89.3 decibels, while the Concorde produces sonic booms of up to 105 decibels. To achieve this sound reduction, the coming aircraft from China will use a reverse-camber fuselage.

Another area where the coming Chinese aircraft speed king will beat the Concorde is in its carrying capacity. This coming aircraft will be able to carry 168 passengers, more than the Concorde’s 128 maximum capacity.

Should The US Be Concerned About China’s Coming Comac C949 Aircraft?

The Concorde hit the global aviation industry back in 1976 after receiving its certificate of airworthiness from the French government on 9 October 1975. Over 20 Concorde aircraft were built between 1976 and 2003 after the aircraft was discontinued.

The discontinuation of this super-fast aircraft is a result of things like high operating costs, noise, and safety concerns. In 2000, the crash of one of the Concorde jets in operation killed all 109 passengers onboard as well as 4 people on the ground.

These events not only led to the demise of the Concorde jet but also commercial supersonic air travel. Now China is planning to revive the use of supersonic air travel with the Comac C949.

While this move puts them ahead of the US in commercial supersonic air travel in the 21st century, this is a feat achieved by France and the UK almost 50 years ago. China might be correcting some of the mistakes that the Concorde made using more modern technology to make commercial supersonic air travel safer.

We aren’t sure whether we should expect a response from the US, as the topic of commercial supersonic air travel is controversial. However, details on the development of China’s Comac C949 will keep rolling onto the internet through the coming years, highlighting its progress.