Air Force goes supersonic on synthetic fuels - tries to save money, not planet

A US Air Force B-1B Lancer flew in to the history books this week when it performed the first supersonic flight burning a 50/50 blend of synthetic and petroleum fuel. The flight was part of a test program that has involved several other Air Force aircraft running on the synthetic fuel with the hopes of having every aircraft in the Air Force fleet burning it by 2011. The 50/50 blend is most notable for its environmental friendliness as it burns much cleaner and reduces combustion-related emissions. Of course, that's not why the Air Force is really interested in the fuel. As the world's largest consumer of aviation fuels, the US Air Force has a greater stake in the program as a means to save the taxpayers some money. Plus, the Air Force is anticipating that at least 50% of the blend will be produced domestically instead of in the countries we love so much to bomb liberate.