According to the company, the awkwardly named aircraft reached a top speed of 623km/h (387.4 mph) during trial runs at an experimental aircraft testing site at the Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site in Wiltshire.
The speed was reached with director of flight operations Phill O’Dell in the cockpit.
“Flying the Spirit of Innovation at these incredible speeds and believing we have broken the world-record for all-electric flight is a momentous occasion,” said O’Dell. “This is the highlight of my career and is an incredible achievement for the whole team. The opportunity to be at the forefront of another pioneering chapter of Rolls-Royce’s story as we look to deliver the future of aviation is what dreams are made of.”
Rolls-Royce believes it has set new records across three different distances: 555.9km/h (345.4 mph) over 3km, 532.1km/h (330 mph) over 15km, and climbing to 3km in altitude in just 202 seconds (a full 60 seconds...