U.S. Air Force prepares to test synthetic fuel on B-52

September The move to become less dependent on foreign oil is certainly beginning to accelerate and the news that the U.S. Air Force is getting set to trial a B-52 powered by a mix of synthetic and JP-8 fuel shows everyone is getting the message. The historic first flight is slated for early next week (Sept 19)from Edwards Air Force Base in California, bringing the Air Force one step closer to reducing its dependence on foreign fuel. "This is an extremely important moment for the Department of Defense," said Michael A. Aimone, the Air Force's assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support. "Our goal is to by 2016 have 50 percent of our aviation fuel coming from alternative fuel sources," he said. According to Aimone, energy is both an economic and national security issue, which is why the Air Force has developed a comprehensive energy strategy.

As the DoD's largest consumer of aviation fuel, the Air Force has taken the lead in the research of alternative fuel sources such as coal and biomass. The Air Force consumes 58% of all aviation fuels consumed by the services.

"The Air Force is conducting a flight test using a B-52 powered by synthetic JP-8 to demonstrate our commitment to the President's vision of becoming less dependent on foreign oil," said Mr. Aimone.

"We're working to certify the fuel for military aviation use," he said, adding, " we must do that in a visible and transparent way so that our partners in the commercial aviation industry will be able to see our testing. By working together we can expand the market for synthetic jet fuel and make it more economical to produce by increasing volume."

To further demonstrate the Air Force's commitment to energy independence, the Secretary of the Air Force has stated an interest in acquiring 100 million gallons of synthetic fuel by 2008.