A team from Arnold Engineering & Development Center in Tennessee transported special equipment to Tinker AFB, Okla., to conduct “exhaust gas analysis” for a B-52 bomber engine burning a synthetic fuel blend derived from natural gas. Officials said the test results would aid a flight test slated for next month when USAF will fly a B-52 using the synthetic Fischer-Tropsch fuel in two of its eight engines. The AEDC-led tests verified that the synthetic fuel blend would not hamper engine performance or release more emissions than the standard JP-8 jet fuel.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
