A team of researchers at the University of Miami has received $100,000 in NASA funding to further develop their ninja-star-looking bi-directional flying wing jet, which rotates 90 degrees in flight to achieve supersonic speeds with virtually no ground-observable sonic boom. The aircraft design is symmetrical along its longitudinal axis and its lateral axis, but one is longer than the other. It has two cockpits, each at one end of one axis, separated by 90 degrees. In flight at subsonic speed, the aircraft uses its longer axis as its wings, with its tips folded up into winglets. The aircraft transitions to supersonic flight by folding down the wingtips and using aerodynamic forces to rotate 90 degrees around centrally mounted twin turbofans. Once rotated, the shorter axis, an airfoil highly optimized for supersonic flight, serves as the wing.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/near-silent-boom-supersonic-ninja-star-jet