Kratos Selected as Engine Design Team for Boom-led Collaboration on Symphony

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), a Kratos subsidiary, has been chosen as the engine design team for the Boom-led collaboration on Symphony, a new propulsion system to be designed and optimized for Boom Supersonic’s Overture supersonic airliner.

Symphony will be a bespoke design leveraging proven technologies and materials to achieve optimal supersonic performance and efficiency. Overture’s new propulsion system is expected to operate at net zero carbon and meet Chapter 14 noise levels. When compared to derivative approaches, Symphony is also expected to deliver a 25% increase in time on wing and significantly lower engine maintenance costs, reducing overall airplane operating costs for airline customers by 10%.

“Developing a supersonic engine specifically for Overture offers by far the best value proposition for our customers,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “Through the Symphony program, we can provide our customers with an economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airplane—a combination unattainable with the current constraints of derivative engines and industry norms.”

As the Symphony design and engineering lead, FTT will utilize its leading supersonic engine design experience and expertise under a standard commercial T&M arrangement, including key engineers directly involved in and in support of the design of the F-119 and F-135 supersonic engines that power the F-22 and F-35. Additionally, FTT’s team of engineers and technicians has also supported the design and development of engine classes from business jets to the largest wide-body aircraft and has extensive experience with the industrial gas turbine industry, bringing valuable experience with long-life engines and alternative fuel systems. GE Additive will provide additive manufacturing design consulting and technology, and StandardAero will partner for maintenance.

“The team at FTT has a decades-long history of developing innovative, high-performance propulsion solutions," said Stacey Rock, President of Florida Turbine Technologies. “We are proud to team with Boom and its Symphony partners and look forward to developing the first bespoke engine for sustainable, economical supersonic flight for both commercial and potential national security applications.”

Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said “Kratos is a technology company in the national security and commercial market areas. Applying our leading technology and engine design experience and capabilities for supersonic applications for military and commercial programs and systems has been a long-term strategic focus for Kratos. Complementary to our current work on engines and propulsion systems, the Boom relationship is exciting for our company and our employees and will assist Kratos in continuing to attract the best and brightest engineers and technicians to our Company.”