A B-1B Lancer from the 9th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force base recently became the first Air Force aircraft to fly at supersonic speed using an alternate fuel, the Air Force News Agency reports.The Air Force says that the fuel, a 50/50 blend of synthetic and petroleum gases, is proven to burn cleaner, reducing combustion-related emissions and particulates in the air — all without compromising performance.
The goal is to have every aircraft using synthetic fuel blends by 2011. By 2016 the Air Force hope at least 50 percent of this fuel will be produced domestically.
Recently, an AC-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft, the military’s biggest user of jet fuel, flew for the first time with a coal-derived synthetic blend as the only fuel on board.