Aircraft

Airframers' new product plans would seem to leave little room for supersonic business jets, but Aerion has cautious hopes it can attract the sought-after backing of an established manufacturer by the end of the year.

The company has crafted a business plan that limits the engineering resources an original equipment manufacturer would need to commit, while reducing its exposure to the financial risk of developing and manufacturing its SSBJ design.

Aerion plans extensive use of risk-sharing partners to help the OEM certificate and manufacture the aircraft, while the company's financial backer, billionaire Robert Bass, is prepared to bring in outside investors to underwrite much of the $2 billion development cost.