Aerion Corporation and Spirit AeroSystems announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement for the preliminary design of the AS2’s forward, pressurized fuselage.

“Joining a project team this early allows us to apply our technical expertise and commercial best practices to make the most positive impact,” said Tom Gentile, President and CEO, Spirit AeroSystems.

“We can create cost-efficient, innovative engineering solutions that take into account Spirit’s highly efficient manufacturing processes. We are proud to be selected by Aerion for this program and look forward to contributing to the success of this groundbreaking new airplane.”

Spirit expects to immediately begin preliminary development efforts. Aerion’s 12-passenger AS2 is up to 70 percent faster than today’s business aircraft. Supersonic cruise speed is Mach 1.4, about 1,000 mph. It saves as much as three hours across the Atlantic and more than five hours across the Pacific.