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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Now China enters supersonic passenger plane arm races with C949 jet that can fly from London to NYC in less than 3 hours
CHINA has thrown itself into the supersonic passenger jet race with its C949 plane that can zoom from London to New York in under three hours. The ultra-fast aircraft promises significantly less noise than the retired Concorde and 50 per cent further flight range. 4 4 4 Designed by China 's state-owned aircraft company Comac the aircraft is billed to reach 6,800 miles - a much further stretch than Concorde 's 4,500 mile capacity. This would allow the plane to fly non-stop from the UK to Malaysia. Meanwhile, the powerful jet is expected to fly 1.6 times faster than the speed of sound, allowing it to travel a staggering 11,000km at a time. This means it could fly from London to New York in less than three hours. The stealthy project also aims to reduce the sonic boom to 83.9 perceived level in decibels - equivalent to the sound of a hairdryer, according to the South China Morning Post. That is just one-twentieth of the Concorde's deafening boom. Concorde was blocked from taking overland flights following noise complaints, after civilians complained it was so loud it rattled windows and spooked livestock. Reducing the noise of the sonic boom could help it overcome regulatory barriers, and compete with rival projects from Nasa and Lockheed Martin. The aircraft, which is yet to make it off paper and onto tarmac, could advance China's role in the modern supersonic aviation industry. But, while plans were revealed in March, an official launch date isn't expected until 2049, Globe Trender reports. Before then the firm plans to unveil the C929 – a twin-aisle jet to rival Boeing's 787. And by 2039 it plans on rolling out a massive 400-seater C939 to compete with Boeing's 777X. While it's quieter than Concorde, it will fit just 28 to 48 passengers in its business class configuration - compared with the Nasa jet's 100-strong capacity. Boom 'son of Concorde' flies supersonic for first time The C949 will also blast slightly slower than its predecessor, which managed to top 1,450mph in its heyday. China's Aero Engine Corporation is separately developing a hypersonic jet, known as Nanqiang No 1, that may fly six times faster than the Concorde when it takes to the skies. The team first started working on the hypersonic jet in 2019, but are yet to make it go supersonic and reach speeds over Mach 1 (767mph). A supersonic jet is one that can travel faster than the speed of sound at Mach 1, while a hypersonic jet is specifically five times faster, at Mach 5. Why did Concorde fail? CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel. Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003. The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, and was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights. Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde. Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs. By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously. The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly. Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000. The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground. The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite. It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer. Plans for C949 come as NASA's supersonic "Son of Concorde" plane inches ever closer to take-off. The X-59 jet will break the sound barrier when it flies - but won't produce a sonic boom, thanks to its unique design. When up and running, the aircraft will hurtle along at altitudes of at speeds of 937mph at 55,000 feet up. Nasa revealed it struck another milestone in the plane's journey toward the skies with crucial low-speed taxiing tests. The X-59 moved around purely under its own power for the first time at US Air Force Plant 42 on July 10. Taxiing is the final stage of ground tests before Nasa can take it up into the skies - and the maiden voyage is chalked for later this year.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump again threatens 'very substantial' tariff hikes for India over Russian oil
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25% "very substantially" over the next 24 hours, in view of New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. He also said a "zero tariff" offer for imports of U.S. goods into India was not good enough, alleging that India was "fuelling the war" in Ukraine. Trump's threat to India over its purchases of Russian oil started on July 31, when he announced a 25% tariff for Indian goods, along with an unspecified penalty. "They're fuelling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy," Trump told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday, adding that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high. "Now, I will say this, India went from the highest tariffs ever. They will give us zero tariffs, and they're going to let us go in. But that's not good enough, because of what they're doing with oil, not good." An Indian government source said that India's purchases of Russian oil have helped to stabilise global oil prices by easing the pressure on supplies from other regions. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, buys more than a third of the oil it needs from Russia. "If we stop buying Russian oil, who will replace those barrels to maintain balance (in the market) and at the same time prevent the prices from shooting up? We don't want a repeat of 2022 when prices shot up to $137 a barrel," the source said, referring to the oil market spike around the time when Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorised to speak to the media. Trump's latest comment followed a similar threat on Monday, which prompted India's Foreign Ministry to say the country was being unfairly singled out over its purchases of Russian oil. "It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia (despite the Ukraine war)," it said in a statement issued late on Monday. "It is unjustified to single out India," it added. The EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.0 billion) worth of trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas that totalled 16.5 million metric tons, the Indian ministry said. The United States continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilisers and chemicals, it added, without giving a source for the export information. The U.S. embassy and the EU's delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the United States and EU have reduced their trade ties with Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. It has faced pressure from the West to distance itself from Russia over the Ukraine war. New Delhi has resisted, citing its longstanding ties with Moscow and economic needs. India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is likely to go ahead with a scheduled visit to Russia this week, two government sources said. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to visit in the coming weeks. The sudden rift between India and the U.S. has been deepening since July 31. Trump has said that from Friday he will impose new sanctions on Russia as well as on countries that buy its energy exports, unless Moscow takes steps to end the war with Ukraine. The trade tensions have caused concern about the potential impact on India's economy. The equity benchmark BSE Sensex .BSESN closed down 0.38%, while the rupee dropped 0.17% versus the dollar.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
India's Dalmia Bharat Sugar posts quarterly profit fall on lower sugar production
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries ( opens new tab posted a near 30% fall in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, dragged by lower sugar production. The company reported a net profit after tax of 383.7 million rupees ($4.37 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 547.3 million rupees a year ago. The New Delhi-based firm, which supplies sugar to companies such as Coca-Cola (KO.N), opens new tab, Britannia ( opens new tab and Dabur ( opens new tab, posted a 2% fall in quarterly revenue. For further earnings highlights, click [here] KEY CONTEXT India's sugar output for the 2025 marketing year, ending in September, is projected to fall below domestic consumption for the first time in eight years. This decline is primarily attributed to reduced sugarcane availability in key producing states, driven by the adverse effects of El Niño and limited groundwater. PEER COMPARISON * The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT APRIL-JUNE STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG IBES -- $1 = 87.7950 Indian rupees
