North Dakota’s Congressional delegation has engaged in conversation with the Air Force about taking advantage of the state’s “huge coal resources” for the service’s fledgling alternative jet fuel program. A joint statement from Sen. Kent Conrad (D), Sen. Byron Dorgan (D), and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D) said that the state has “an 800-year supply of lignite that can be converted to liquid fuel” for jet aircraft. (The Air Force currently is testing coal-derived jet fuel in a B-52 bomber from Minot AFB, N.D.) The legislators also want to interest the Air Force, which is one of the biggest users of green energy, in its “powerful wind energy.”
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.