Some of the world’s best and brightest fighter pilots soon might be headed off to war running on a fuel that used to be reserved for green peaceniks.
This article in the Navy Times says the U.S. Navy could be testing non-petroleum based fuels in F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as early as next year:
A team of chemists at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., is testing alternative fuel formulas using items such as algae, weeds, animal fats and liquefied coal.
Their goal is to create an alternative version of today’s jet fuel, known as JP-5, which could be easily transported and burned by today’s fleet.
“If we have done our job properly, the sailor will not notice the difference,” said Rick Kamin, the fuels lead for the Navy Energy Coordination Office. “It’ll all be JP-5 when it gets to the ship, and they’ll only know it as JP-5m.”
The Navy says it has a dual goal in instituting the green energy initiative: to reduce environmental concerns and to reduce the need for foreign oil. Maybe, then, some of those warriors won’t have to go off to fight after all.