Military

RAF makes world's first military flight entirely on sustainable fuel

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The test flight used an RAF Voyager air-to-air refueling aircraft
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The test flight used an RAF Voyager air-to-air refueling aircraft
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The RAF voyager with rainbow
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Loading SAF on the Voyager aircraft
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The test flight lasted 90 minutes
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The fuel is produced by breaking down oils and fats into esters and glycerol in a process called transesterification
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The Voyager taking off
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The Voyager touching down
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A Royal Air Force (RAF) Voyager air-to-air refueling tanker made history on November 16 in the sky over RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, UK, becoming the world's first in-service military aircraft to complete a flight using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for both engines.

With test pilot and Captain of the flight Jesus Ruiz at the controls of the converted Airbus A330 commercial jetliner, the 90-minute test flight carried an RAF, Rolls-Royce and Airbus flight test crew and replicated an air-to-air refueling sortie. The flight was conducted as a partnership by the RAF, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support agency, Airbus, British aircraft leasing company AirTanker, and Rolls-Royce, with the SAF being supplied by Air BP, which is a division of British BP.

The RAF voyager with rainbow
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The recent test comes after a C42 microlight aircraft was flown by the RAF on November 2, 2021 using a synthetic UL91 fuel made by British energy company Zero Petroleum from water and carbon dioxide. The fuel used in the flight test is known technically as Ester Fatty Acid Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA SPK).

The RAF is interested in such fuels that can be made from waste materials or basic chemicals because they are not only more environmentally friendly, they also hold the potential for forward bases to one day be able to manufacture their own fuel rather than depending on expensive and vulnerable supply lines.

"From the crew perspective, the SAF operation was 'transparent,' meaning that no differences were observed operationally," said Ruiz. "The test plan was exhaustive and robust and has allowed us to compare SAF with JET1 [aviation fuel] culminating in a flight without a single drop of fossil fuel. Teamwork was a key contributor, harmonizing experience from Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and the RAF. We feel very proud to be a small part of this huge step for sustainable aviation."

Source: Airbus

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1 comment
GregVoevodsky
How about the cost? What are the projected costs compared to Av-gas? More Green News with no content. 'Converted' - How much does it cost to convert the engines? What about the costs of the new fuel stations like electric charging stations? I bet this is over 100X the cost of the current Av-gas with current infrastructure. Even at 10X, your plane ticket will be $1000 instead of $100. Like most Green BS, it is far from economical. At least California's Gov Gavin, extended the life of Green Nuclear Energy ironically at Diablo Canyon for a few years....