iscover
The Australian Defence Force has begun moving to sustainable aviation fuel, derived from renewable sources, with the recent refuelling of an Army CH-47F Chinook in southern Victoria last month.
The aircraft was refuelled with about 3,000 pounds of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) under a joint initiative with the Air Force and Joint Capabilities Group to move away from reliance on conventional fuels.
Certified for Defence use in 2023, the Air Force demonstrated the use of SAF with the RAAF Roulettes conducting a flying display fuelled by a SAF blend at the 2023 Newcastle-Williamtown Air Show.
This year Air Force, in collaboration with Joint Capability Group, expanded the initiative to a 12-month pilot activity at RAAF Base East Sale, making the base the first airfield in Australia routinely using a SAF blend.
HQ Aviation Command’s Director of Aviation Capability Management, Colonel Brenton Mellor, said Army’s continuing participation in the initiative ensured its aviators and support personnel understood the strategic significance of SAF and could see how the fuel functioned the same as conventional aviation turbine fuel.
“SAF will be an important element in keeping Army aircraft in the air,” COL Mellor said.
“Being able to increase our fuel stocks while maintaining our military capability and interoperability with allies increases our resilience, effectiveness and deterrence.
“The stopover by the Chinook at East Sale is an important milestone for the use of SAF across Defence, and Army Aviation looks forward to greater availability of synthetic aviation turbine fuels.”
The refuelling at RAAF Base East Sale reportedly demonstrates the ADF’s ability to pivot to use the fuel when it is produced domestically in coming years.
All ADF aircraft are certified to use SAF, which is compliant with existing military aviation fuel standards and consistent with standards used by Australia’s allies and partners.
