Indian Air Force’s An-32 Aircraft To Be Powered By Blended Bio-jet Fuel

Russian-origin An-32 military transport aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been certified by Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) to fly on blended aviation fuel containing up to 10 percent bio-jet fuel on Friday.

"IAF's formidable workhorse, the Russian made AN-32 aircraft was formally fleet certified to fly on blended aviation fuel containing up to 10 per cent of indigenous bio-jet fuel," IAF spokesperson Group Capt. Anupam Banerjee was quoted as saying by PTI.

The bio-fuel is produced from tree borne oils (TBOs) sourced from tribal areas and farmers, augmenting their income substantially, an official release stated.

The indigenous bio-jet fuel was first produced by the CSIR-IIP lab at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in 2013. However, it could not be tested or certified for commercial use on aircraft due to lack of test facilities in the civil aviation sector.

On 27 July 2018, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had formally announced IAF’s intention to permit the use of all its resources for testing and certifying the indigenous fuel. Since then, IAF’s flight test crew and engineers have been evaluating the performance of this fuel against international standards.