The Air Force plans to fly a remotely piloted vehicle out of Edwards AFB, Calif., today using a blend of synthetic and conventional jet fuel.
This would be the first-ever flight of the RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft powered solely on a synthetic paraffinic kerosene, or SPK jet fuel blend, the Air Force said in a Nov. 19 press statement. It would also be the first time any Defense Department aircraft flew with a 50 percent mix of JP-8 blended with 25 percent SPK derived from liquefied coal and 25 percent SPK derived from natural gas.
This event marks the next phase in the Air Force’s alternative aviation fuel program and represents a milestone in worldwide development of alternative aviation fuels.
Officials at the Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, said Global Hawk is the last remaining Air Force system to demonstrate unrestricted operations using the SPK fuel blend. Over the past three years, virtually every aircraft type in the Air Force inventory underwent flight certification testing on the synthetic fuel, according to the officials.
Using information gleaned from these tests, the Air Force has accelerated the certification of hydro-processed renewable jet, or HRJ, which are derived from plant oils and animal fats. To date, the A-10, F-15 and C-17 have successfully flown using the HRJ/JP-8 blend. The F-22 Raptor is also scheduled to demonstrate the HRJ blend in the next year, according to the Air Force.
The Global Hawk demonstration flight supports the Air Force Energy Plan goal to be prepared to cost-competitively acquire 50 percent of domestic aviation fuel from an alternative fuel blend by 2016.
“The Air Force recognizes its role as a leader in energy management,” said Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics. “This demonstration underscores our commitment to advancing technologies that increase our use of renewable energy and reduce our consumption of imported foreign oil.”