A US Air Force flight powered by camelina-based biofuel produced by Sustainable Oils has broken the sound barrier.

The biofuel was used in a 50 per cent blend combined with petroleum-based JP-8 to power a test flight on a Raptor aircraft.
‘The [aircraft] performed flawlessly on the biofuel blend citing no noticeable differences from traditional JP-8,’ said Jeff Braun, director of the alternative fuels certification division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
The Air Force said the flight test, ‘consisted of air starts, operability, and performance at different speeds and altitude throughout the flight envelope’.
The F-22 Raptor performed several manoeuvers including a supercruise, which is a supersonic flight without using the engine’s afterburner, at 40,000 feet.
Sustainable Oils has secured contracts for more than 500,000 gallons of camelina-based biofuel with the US Air Force, the Navy and the Army.
Fuels derived from camelina have been the most thoroughly tested of all aviation biofuels, having powered commercial airlines and multiple military aircraft.
‘Camelina-based jet fuel is ready for lift off,’ said Scott Johnson, president of Sustainable Oils.
Camelina has the advantage that it grows in rotation with wheat and therefore does not compete with crops grown for food, while reducing emissions when used in fuel by 75 per cent compared to petrol jet fuel.