The Air Force is leveraging the experiences of certifying its first alternative aviation fuel blend as it embarks on approving additional mixtures for the fleet. “We are taking advantage of lessons learned from the Fischer-Tropsch certification program,” Jeff Braun, who heads USAF’s alternative fuels certification office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, told the Daily Report. That program, set for completion next year, saw the Air Force go essentially from platform type to platform type to certify each to run on a 50-50 blend of traditional JP-8 aviation fuel and synthetic paraffinic kerosene. Based on that experience, “fleet-wide, system-by-system certification” will not be necessary as service officials clear the use of new blends containing some amount of biomass-derived fuel known as hydro-treated renewable jet fuel. Instead only the “most challenging” platforms from the FT certification will have to go through a distinct certification process, he said.
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.
