The Air Force plans to fly for the first time a B-52 bomber powered by a mix of synthetic and standard JP-8 aviation fuel on Sept. 19. The service already plans to purchase 100 million gallons of synthetic fuel over the next year and has set its sights on achieving a 50 percent reduction in its use of standard aviation fuel by 2016. Ground tests have demonstrated that the synthetic fuel does not affect engine performance, so the Air Force expects the BUFF to fly.
The B-21 Raider stealth bomber was recently flown, for the first time, by an operational pilot as part of its flight test process, the Air Force said June 11. And a top Pentagon official said the move to bring operational testing into the B-21 process earlier than normal shows the…