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Sustainable Fuel-Powered British Voyager Tanker Performs Air-to-Air Replenishment

Image shows a. RAF Voyager from RAF Brize Norton landing at Nellis Air Force Base during Red Flag 23-1. A Royal Air Force detachment, operating from Nellis Air Base Nevada, is honing its cutting-edge air combat skills in the largest scale Exercise Red Flag to date. Exercise Red Flag is the pre-eminent annual air combat training exercise run by the United States. The United States Air Force has expanded this long-established exercise to include a vastly increased geographical area to challenge participants to overcome what USAF planners are calling the ‘Tyranny of Distance’ in addition to the traditional combat air missions of previous exercises. The Exercise has previously been run over the Nevada Test and Training Range and area of 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land. Now training areas in Utah and California have been added, as well as missions being flow out over the Californian Pacific Coast. The exercise area has therefore become vast and is aimed to reflect the challenges of conducting air operations at range The RAF detachment of around 300 personnel currently taking part on the exercise is operating seven Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth based II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, plus a Voyager operated from 10 and 101 Squadron based at RAF Brize Norton. In addition, aircrew from 51 Squadron based at RAF Waddington have been integrated into the flight crew of a USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence gathering aircraft. Australia is the only other nation participating, reflecting the close Defence partnership between our three countries.Image shows a. RAF Voyager from RAF Brize Norton landing at Nellis Air Force Base during Red Flag 23-1. A Royal Air Force detachment, operating from Nellis Air Base Nevada, is honing its cutting-edge air combat skills in the largest scale Exercise Red Flag to date. Exercise Red Flag is the pre-eminent annual air combat training exercise run by the United States. The United States Air Force has expanded this long-established exercise to include a vastly increased geographical area to challenge participants to overcome what USAF planners are calling the ‘Tyranny of Distance’ in addition to the traditional combat air missions of previous exercises. The Exercise has previously been run over the Nevada Test and Training Range and area of 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land. Now training areas in Utah and California have been added, as well as missions being flow out over the Californian Pacific Coast. The exercise area has therefore become vast and is aimed to reflect the challenges of conducting air operations at range The RAF detachment of around 300 personnel currently taking part on the exercise is operating seven Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth based II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, plus a Voyager operated from 10 and 101 Squadron based at RAF Brize Norton. In addition, aircrew from 51 Squadron based at RAF Waddington have been integrated into the flight crew of a USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence gathering aircraft. Australia is the only other nation participating, reflecting the close Defence partnership between our three countries.

Voyager tanker aircraft landing at Nellis Air Force Base. Photo: AS1 Tom Cann RAF/UK Ministry of Defence

The UK Royal Air Force has conducted an air-to-air replenishment using a sustainable aviation fuel-powered Voyager tanker.

The demonstration was part of the service’s efforts to transition from fossil fuels and achieve net zero carbon emission flights by 2040.

During the test, the Voyager was deployed over the North Sea and returned to its home base at RAF Brize Norton via Farnborough.

It was powered by a combination of traditional fuel and 43 percent of the specialized fuel.

Last year, the air force conducted a similar demonstration in which a Voyager was flown with 100 percent sustainable fuel.

‘Crucial Transformation’

According to the UK, the sustainable aviation fuel used in the latest trial consists of waste-based feedstocks such as cooking oil.

Using the alternative cuts carbon emissions by up to 80 percent compared to existing jet fuels. This approach is considered key to reducing the Royal Air Force’s dependence on fossil fuels and related global supply chains while retaining operational resilience.

Voyager has refuelled with Typhoon jets over the North Sea. Powered by 43% Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from waste-based feedstocks such as cooking oil Continued #RAF work towards a sustainable aviation future.Voyager has refuelled with Typhoon jets over the North Sea. Powered by 43% Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from waste-based feedstocks such as cooking oil Continued #RAF work towards a sustainable aviation future.
Voyager tanker refueling Typhoon jets over the North Sea. Photo: UK Royal Air Force via Twitter

“Greater use of alternative and sustainable fuel can only lead to positive outcomes for Defence, the United Kingdom, and our collective endeavour against climate change,” UK Defence Minister Annabel Goldie stated.

“This is not an easy undertaking by the RAF, but time and again we see that by working collaboratively with our partners across industry we can achieve crucial transformation.”

A ‘Worthwhile’ Challenge

The North Sea demonstration was conducted during the Sustainable Skies World Summit 2023, an international event showcasing sustainable aerospace solutions.

At the summit, government and industry partners are meeting to discuss how to produce at least 10 percent of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 and achieve zero emissions on transatlantic flights.

“The continued success of sustainable aviation fuel is reassuring to see. If we are to achieve our net zero goal by 2040 then exploiting these technologies is going to be an enormous but worthwhile endeavour,” Royal Air Force Chief of Staff Air Vice-Marshal Paul Lloyd said.

“Despite the challenge, the benefits of reducing our reliance on traditional supply chains and fossil fuels outweigh it. The RAF is proud to be leading in this area.”

Tags aircraftmilitary testingRoyal Air Force
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