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.
The Space Force on April 15 released two highly anticipated future-casting documents that describe what the service expects the space environment will look like in the year 2040 and lay out the force structure it thinks it will need to operate in that environment.