New supersonic jet 2,500mph faster than Concorde could cut UK to Sydney to 3 hours

The new jet could see the journey from the UK to Sydney fall from almost a day to just three hours. 14:31, Fri, Jul 24, 2026 Updated: 14:31, Fri, Jul 24, 2026 The new jet could see the journey from the UK to Sydney fall from almost a day to just 3 hours (Image: ESA)A journey from the UK to Australia could one day fall from almost a full day to just three hours if a revolutionary British-led hypersonic aviation programme achieves lift-off. For British holidaymakers and business travellers, the appeal of ultra-fast long-haul travel is obvious, as trips down under currently require navigating long transits, exhausting layovers and brutal jet lag.A breakthrough in hypersonic technology could completely transform long-distance travel. At the heart of the plan is INVICTUS - a €7million (£5.9million) project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build a reusable test aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5. That is five times the speed of sound - around 3,800 mph - making it roughly 2,500 mph faster than Concorde. Currently, the fastest crewed air-breathing jet aircraft ever built, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, topped out at around 2,193 mph (Mach 3.2). Get the latest news from around ...