Free Republic

US fuel stops Gripen Libya mission The Swedish JAS Gripen aircraft deployed in Sicily as part of NATO's Libya mission remained grounded on Thursday as the fuel available is suitable only for US navy aircraft. The eight fighter jets are located in the US part of the Sigonella airbase on Sicily and the only fuel available it that which is used for US navy aircraft. The Gripen were due to participate in their first mission over Libya on Thursday but this has now been delayed and test flights have been postponed. According to the outline plan, the eight aircraft were...

Air Force Maj. Michelle Coghill confirmed both of the military aircraft's engines used the biofuel for Thursday morning's flight at Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, Fla., the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News reported. The Air Force said the flight represented the first time all of a military or civilian airplane's engines were fueled by a biofuels blend. The test flight represents part of an ongoing Air Force effort to develop and test biofuels. The Daily News said officials from both the Air Force Research Laboratory and Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base oversaw the test flight. Unlike conventional...