The super-fast Concorde jets of yesteryear were nothing compared to this.

EADS, parent company of Airbus, just revealed its new hypersonic concept aircraft at the Paris Air Show: the Zero Emission Hypersonic Transport -- or ZEHST. (via

The 100-passenger aircraft will fly 20 miles above the Earth and break Mach 4.  At that velocity, the usual eight hour flight from New York City to London would take just one hour -- less than half the time it took the Concorde.

The ZEHST concept uses three different sets of engines: rocket engines for use high up in the atmosphere, ramjet engines (normally used in missiles) to boost the plane to speeds over 3,000 MPH, and conventional jet engines for take-off and landing.

EADS claims the jet will be eco-friendly too, running primarily off of seaweed biofuel.

But don't get too excited about taking a ride on this thing.  EADS says it won't be ready for another 40 years and admits that some of the technology required to make this a reality is still being developed.

Here are a couple diagrams of the ZEHST: