As the largest consumer of fuel across the U.S. federal government the USAF aims to increase operational energy efficiency while continuing to ensure mission success
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) found out that the F-22 can save fuel by flying faster on ferry flights during an experiment carried out on Aug. 13.
Two groups of F-22s have completed their training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska and were flying back home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. They were accompanied by a pair of KC-10s.
The 618th Air Operations Center had predicted back in 2014 that flying faster could save total fuel consumption and flight hours and thus the two groups were assigned to test out the theory.
As explained by Corrie Poland, Air Force Operational Energy, in the article Could flying faster save the Air Force fuel?, at the end of the five-hour flight, the group that flew faster “was able to cut about ten percent off the total flight time and six percent of the fuel required for this type of aircraft re-deployment.”
“It’s important to preserve our resources,” says Capt. Dan Thompson, F-22 pilot and the flight lead.
“Good training is an absolute necessity for our combat capability, so preserving resources and hours on the airplane gives us the ability to invest those [hours] in training opportunities and time back home,” Thompson said.
“Last year about 1250 Air Force fighter aircraft were deployed/redeployed in this manner,” said Roberto Guerrero, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for operational energy. “Smart execution like this not only saves us operational costs, but more importantly, preserves time on the aircraft for higher value sorties like combat and training”.
As the largest consumer of fuel across the U.S. federal government, spending nearly $5 billion annually, the Air Force aims to increase operational energy efficiency while continuing to ensure mission success. The next step is to apply this method across other fighter platforms.
“When it comes to operational energy, it’s important to be as efficient as possible, allowing us to maximize the number of fighters we move and saving both the government and the taxpayer money while doing it,” said Lt. Col. Russell Johnson, delivery control officer from the Air Operation Squadron at Air Combat Command Headquarters.
Photo credit: Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane and Tech. Sgt. Jason Robertson / U.S. Air Force
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com