I wonder if some people even read the articles before compulsively jumping in to criticize any innovation that’s reported in the Avweb comment section. Because, nowhere is it stated or even implied that the engine itself is supposed to make a difference in the sonic boom. The article is simply reporting a milestone in the development of the aircraft.
As for whether NASA should be funding research into new aerospace designs - um, well that is kind of exactly what they have always done. And not a lot of companies have huge wind tunnels to test stuff like this so it makes perfect sense for them to be involved.
Quite honestly I don’t even know if I think that non-booming Mach 1+ air transportation would be a good thing. But these straw man criticisms just rub me the wrong way.