Maureen O Hare and Paul Sillers, CNN • Updated 25th January 2021
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(CNN) The race is heating up to produce the first supersonic passenger aircraft to enter commercial service in more than 50 years.
US planemaker Aerion, whose AS2 jet promises to fly New York to London in 4.5 hours, is building a massive new global headquarters in Florida ahead of production beginning on the supersonic craft in 2023.
It s a big step forward for the company, which will use some of the $300 million it has attracted in capital investment to develop the 110+ acre Aerian Park in Melbourne, right next to Orlando Melbourne International Airport.
Aerion Park, next to next to Orlando Melbourne International Airport, will produce 300 of the jets
The park will cover more than 110 acres, with the buildings alone covering the equivalent of 14 football fields
It will bring at least 675 new jobs to Florida by 2026, it s claimed, as operations are ramped up
The park will house a customer completions center and a full-size AS2 cabin mock-up