Supercruise is sustainedsupersonic flight of asupersonic aircraft without usingafterburner. Many supersonicmilitary aircraft are not capable of supercruise and can maintainMach 1+ flight only in short bursts with afterburners. Aircraft such as theSR-71 Blackbird are designed to cruise at supersonic speed with afterburners enabled.

Some fighter jets are capable of supercruise but only at high altitudes and in aclean configuration, so the term may imply "a significant increase in effective combat speed with a full weapons load over existing types".^[1] One of the pre-eminent military examples of supercruise is theF-22 Raptor, for which supercruise was defined as "the ability to cruise at speeds of one and a half times the speed of sound or greater without the use of afterburner for extended periods in combat configuration."^[2]

One of the best-known examples of an aircraft capable of supercruise, and the only notable non-military example, was theConcorde. Due to its long service as a commercial airliner, Concorde holds the record for the most time spent supersonic; more than all other western aircraft combined.^[3]

A few early supersonic aircraft attained speeds just beyond the speed of sound without using afterburning.

On 3 August 1954, aGerfaut research aircraft powered by anSNECMA Atar 101D2A engine exceeded Mach 1 inlevel flight without using afterburning.^[4][5]

The first production aircraft to exceed Mach 1 in level flight without afterburning was theLockheed F-104 Starfighter after itsJ65 engine was replaced with aJ79. The maximum speed without afterburning was Mach 1.05.^[6]

The P.1 prototype of theEnglish Electric Lightning, powered by non-afterburningArmstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines, exceeded Mach 1 on 11 August 1954. A week previously, on 4 August, the P.1,WG760 flown byRoland Beamont on itsmaiden flight, had unknowingly exceeded Mach 1 in a climb.^[7] During development testing at English Electric it was established that the Lightning had a stabilized speed capability in level flight, without afterburning, of about Mach 1.2 and for the T.4 (2-seat trainer) 1.08.^[8] Flying just above the speed of sound without using afterburning, although done by the contractor as part of some flight trials does not appear to have been relevant to the operational capability of the aircraft. Service trials established intercept profiles for subsonic and supersonic targets at different altitudes with subsonic cruising at a maximum of Mach 0.95 with all supersonic speeds beyond subsonic cruise attained with afterburning.^[9]

All theFairey Delta 2 initial supersonic test flying to Mach 1.1 was done without afterburning. Selecting the afterburner, which initially only had a maximum selection with no intermediate positions, would have caused an uncontrollable rapid acceleration to potentially hazardous speeds; i.e., too far beyond previously established flutter-free speeds.^[10]

Only thesupersonic transports (SST), Concorde, and the second version of the Tu-144 (theTu-144D) spent most of their time cruising at their design speeds without needing afterburning. Afterburning was added to Concorde for take-off to cope with weight increases that came after the initial design. It was also used to accelerate through the high-dragtransonic speed range, not because the extra thrust was required, but because it was available and improved the operating economics. The redesigned Tu-144D used engines with no afterburners which, together with other improvements, increased the full payload range from 3,080 to 5,330 km (1,910 to 3,310 mi) (Concorde's operational range was 6,470 km or 4,020 mi).^[11]

TheUnited States Air Force set supercruise as a core requirement for theAdvanced Tactical Fighter program,^[12] which resulted in theF-22 Raptor. The F-22 Raptor's supercruise capabilities are touted as a major performance advantage over other fighters, with supercruise being demonstrated exceeding Mach 1.5.^[13][2] Supercruise capability provides advantages forstealth aircraft because an afterburner plume reflects radar signals and creates a significantinfrared signature.^[14] Virtually all fighters prior to the F-22 cruise at Mach 0.8–0.9 while carrying a normal weapons load.^[1]

There are a few engines in production that are designed to facilitate tactically significant supercruise:

• ThePratt & Whitney PW1120 was used on the IAI Super Phantom 2000 that had supercruise capability.^[17][18]
• The twoPratt & Whitney F119 that power the F-22 Raptor make it the most capable supercruise-capable fighter aircraft in service. The F-22 Raptor can supercruise above Mach 1.5 without external stores.^[19][20][13]
• TheEJ200 engine built byEuroJet Turbo GmbH mounted in theEurofighter Typhoon. It is capable of supercruising at Mach 1.5 with an air superiority missile load.^[16] Typhoon pilots have stated that Mach 1.3 is attainable in combat configuration with external stores.^[21]
• TheGeneral Electric F414G in theJAS 39 Gripen NG is designed for supercruise and has achieved Mach 1.2,^[22] or Mach 1.1 with an air to air missile load.^[23]
• The twoSnecma M88s that power theDassault Rafale enable the Rafale to supercruise with four missiles and a belly drop tank.^[15]

Independently, Russia is working onizdeliye 30 (after AL-31F and AL-41F derivatives modifications, likeizdeliye 117S turbofan) and RD-33MKRU Morskaja Osa; an all-newAL-41 engine with a complete redesign is underway to add supercruise ability to theSukhoi Su-57. This has yet to bear fruit, but the stop-gap117S engine, produced by this program, may achieve the supercruise goal already. While testing aSu-35BM fighter equipped with these engines, it managed to accelerate past Mach 1 without using the afterburner, suggesting that it had supercruise capability. It has yet to be seen whether this will be possible with a combat load.^[24]

• Index of aviation articles

• Schrader, Richard K (1989).Concorde: The Full Story of the Anglo-French SST. Kent, UK: Pictorial Histories Pub. Co.ISBN 978-0-929521-16-9.
• Jenkins, Dennis R.; Landis, Tony R. (2008).Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters. Minnesota, US: Specialty Press.ISBN 978-1-58007-111-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gunston, Bill (2006).The Development of Jet and Turbine Aero Engines (4th ed.). Haynes Publishing.ISBN 1852606185.
• Gunston, Bill (1975).Early supersonic fighters of the West. New York.ISBN 978-0684144917.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Beamont, Roland (1980).Testing years. London: I. Allen.ISBN 978-0711010727.
• Goodall, Jim (1992).America's stealth fighters and bombers. Osceola, Wis.: Motorbooks International.ISBN 978-0879386092.
• Caygill, Peter (2004).Lightning from the Cockpit: Flying the Supersonic Legend. Barnsley: Leo Cooper.ISBN 1844150828.
• Twiss, Peter (2005).Faster Than the Sun. London: Grub Street.ISBN 1904943373.
• Gordon, Yefim; Komissarov, Dmitry; Rigmant, Vladimir (May 2015).Tupolev Tu-144: The Soviet Supersonic Airliner. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.ISBN 9780764348945.
• Piccirillo, Albert C. (2014).Elegance in Flight: A comprehensive history of the F-16XL experimental prototype and its role in NASA flight research(PDF). Washington, D.C.: NASA.ISBN 978-1-62683-022-6. Retrieved20 February 2023.

• Jet engines

• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher