Daily Telegraph has this article, If you can see the comments, they are worth a read...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...tes-first-net/
RAF Voyager makes milestone 90-minute journey on sustainable aviation fuel, made up of waste-based materials
ByDanielle Sheridan, DEFENCE EDITOR18 November 2022 • 6:00pm RAF Voyager required no modifications to handle the sustainable aviation fuel
CREDIT: RAF/Paul CrouchFighter jets could fly on fuel made from old cooking oil after
the Royal Air Force completed its first net zero flight.
For 90 minutes, the RAF Voyager flew over Oxfordshire powered purely by 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel.
The flight, which took place on Wednesday and replicated an air-to-air refuelling sortie, was the first time that a military aircraft of its size, or any aircraft in the UK, had completed such a feat.
RAF Voyager required no modifications to handle the
sustainable aviation fuel.
A defence source told The Telegraph that if the RAF could replicate aviation turbine fuel, a form of paraffin that all jet engines run on, “then it could work on future fighter jets”.
“That would be part of the plan for making the RAF carbon neutral in due course,” they added.The RAF Voyager lands at RAF Brize Norton after flying over Oxfordshire powered purely by sustainable aviation fuel
CREDIT: Andrew Matthews/PA
The flight took place the day before the Chancellor
ignored demands to increase defence spending to three per cent of national income by 2030 in
the Autumn Statement.
The RAF has
pledged to reach net zero by 2040. However, when asked if uncertainty about defence spending would impact how much money can be poured into the military achieving its green targets, the defence source added: “Now we know that this is a carbon-neutral and green endeavour, we should be putting more money into this kind of research.
“The more who use it means the cost will eventually reduce, so everyone should be looking to participate in these schemes.”
Sustainable aviation fuel is made from waste-based sustainable feedstocks, such as used cooking oil, and reduces lifecycle carbon emissions on average by up to 80 per cent compared to the conventional jet fuel it replaces. Sustainable aviation fuel is made from waste-based sustainable feedstocks, such as used cooking oil
CREDIT: Sharron Floyd/Serco Photo/RAF Brize Norton
The fuel, which is commercially available, presents a challenge of being available in large quantities.
However, the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for 50 per cent of central government emissions, said that it hoped such trials would stimulate greater demand across the aviation sector, and lead to increased production and reduced costs as a result.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the Chief of the Air Staff, has previously acknowledged he was aware it sounded “crazy” that he is so invested in the environment as head of the RAF.
He said: “Climate change is a transnational challenge that threatens our resilience, our security and our collective prosperity.”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, right, welcomed Flight Lieutenant Nick Dehnel, second right, after the test flight
CREDIT: Andrew Matthews/PA WireACM Sir Mike said that the way aircraft are powered “will be key” to achieving this goal, adding that the RAF “is already thinking about how we will operate beyond fossil fuels”.
He said: “This exciting trial flight of a Voyager from RAF Brize Norton, powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel, is an important milestone on that journey, and marks another technological first for the RAF alongside our industry partners.”
Under ACM Sir Mike, Project Astra was set up as an initiative to look at every part of what the RAF does with a view to making it better and more efficient.
In Sep 2021, the RAF spent £30,000 on e-scooters to replace a shuttle bus on an airbase in an effort to go green.
In Nov 2021, the RAF completed the world’s first flight
powered by synthetic fuel made from “air and water”.
Other innovations have included flying an electric aircraft at RAF Cranwell and creating fuel from genetically modified bacteria. The RAF also plans to have its first net-zero airbase by 2025.
Baroness Goldie, a defence minister, said: “Through the RAF’s pioneering spirit, expertise and partnership with UK industry, British science and engineering is leading the way in improving operational resilience and developing future operating capability in a climate-changed world.”