airboyd.tv Courtesy NAVAIR/US Department of Defense The Navy celebrated Earth Day on April 22 by showcasing a flight test of the Green Hornet, an F/A-18 Super Hornet multi-role fighter jet powered by a biofuel blend. The test, conducted by the Naval Air Systems Command at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., drew hundreds of onlookers, including The Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, who has made the exploration and adoption of alternative fuels a priority for the Navy and Marine Corps. Mabus observed the flight and tracked its data from a Project Engineering Station at the air stations Atlantic Test Range. After the jet landed, he met the pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Tom Weaver of Billerica, Mass. “The alternative fuels test program is a significant milestone in the certification and ultimate operational use of biofuels by the Navy and Marine Corps, Mabus said. It’s important to emphasize, especially on Earth Day, the Navy’s commitment to reducing dependence on foreign oil as well as safeguarding our environment. Our Navy alongside industry, the other services, and federal agency partners, will continue to be an early adopter of alternative energy sources. The Green Hornet runs on a 50-50 blend of conventional jet fuel and a biofuel that comes from camelina, a hardy US-grown plant that can thrive even in difficult soil. The Defense Energy Support Center, which oversees procurement of biofuel for the Navy, recently awarded a $2.7 million contract to Sustainable Oils of …
