Jet Fuel - Military Jet Fuels

Military Jet Fuels

Military organizations around the world use a different classification system of JP (for "Jet Propellant") numbers. Some are almost identical to their civilian counterparts and differ only by the amounts of a few additives; Jet A-1 is similar to JP-8, Jet B is similar to JP-4. Other military fuels are highly specialized products and are developed for very specific applications.

Jet fuels are sometimes classified as kerosene or naphtha-type. Kerosene-type fuels include Jet A, Jet A-1, JP-5 and JP-8. Naphtha-type jet fuels, sometimes referred to as "wide-cut" jet fuel, include Jet B and JP-4.

JP-1 was an early jet fuel specified in 1944 by the U.S. government (AN-F-32). It was a pure kerosene fuel with high flash point (relative to aviation gasoline) and a freezing point of −60 °C. The low freezing point requirement limited availability of the fuel and it was soon superseded by other "wide cut" jet fuels which were kerosene-naphtha or kerosene-gasoline blends. It was also known as avtur.

JP-2 and JP-3 are obsolete types developed during World War II. JP-2 was intended to be easier to produce than JP-1 since it had a higher freezing point, but was never widely used. JP-3 was even more volatile than JP-2 and intended to improve production, but its volatility lead to high evaporation loss in service.

JP-4 was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It had lower flash point than JP-1, but was preferred because of its greater availability. It was the primary U.S. Air Force jet fuel between 1951 and 1995. Its NATO code is F-40. It is also known as avtag.

JP-5 is a yellow kerosene-based jet fuel developed in 1952 for use in aircraft stationed aboard aircraft carriers, where the risk from fire is particularly great. JP-5 is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, naphthenes, and aromatic hydrocarbons that weighs 6.8 pounds per U.S. gallon (0.81 kg/L) and has a high flash point (min. 60 °C or 140 °F). It is the primary jet fuel for most navies. Its freezing point is −46 °C (−51 °F). It does not contain antistatic agents. Other names for JP-5 are: NCI-C54784, Fuel oil no. 5, Residual oil no. 5. JP-5's NATO code is F-44. It is also called AVCAT fuel for Aviation carrier turbine fuel.

The JP-4 and JP-5 fuels, covered by the MIL-DTL-5624 and meet the British Specification DEF STAN 91-86 AVCAT/FSII (formerly DERD 2452)., are intended for use in aircraft turbine engines. These fuels require military-unique additives that are necessary in military weapon systems, engines, and missions.

JP-6 is a type of jet fuel developed for General Electric YJ93 jet engine of the XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic aircraft. JP-6 was similar to JP-5 but with a lower freezing point and improved thermal oxidative stability. When the XB-70 program was cancelled, the JP-6 specification, MIL-J-25656, was also cancelled.

JP-7 was developed for the twin Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet/ramjet engines of the SR-71 Blackbird and has a high flash point to better cope with the heat and stresses of high speed supersonic flight.

JP-8 is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the US military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87. JP-8 is a kerosene-based fuel, projected to remain in use at least until 2025. It was first introduced at NATO bases in 1978. Its NATO code is F-34.

JPTS was developed in 1956 for the Lockheed U-2 spy plane.

Zip fuel designates a series of experimental boron-containing "high energy fuels" intended for long range aircraft. The toxicity and undesirable residues of the fuel made it difficult to use. The development of the ballistic missile removed the principal application of zip fuel.

Syntroleum has been working with the U. S. Air Force to develop a synthetic jet fuel blend that will help the Air Force to reduce its dependence on imported petroleum. The Air Force, which is the U.S. military's largest user of fuel, began exploring alternative fuel sources in 1999. On December 15, 2006, a B-52 took off from Edwards AFB for the first time powered solely by a 50-50 blend of JP-8 and Syntroleum's FT fuel. The seven-hour flight test was considered a success. The goal of the flight test program was to qualify the fuel blend for fleet use on the service's B-52s, and then flight test and qualification on other aircraft. On August 8, 2007, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne certified the B-52H as fully approved to use the FT blend, marking the formal conclusion of the test program. This program is part of the Department of Defense Assured Fuel Initiative, an effort to develop secure domestic sources for the military energy needs. The Pentagon hopes to reduce its use of crude oil from foreign producers and obtain about half of its aviation fuel from alternative sources by 2016. With the B-52 now approved to use the FT blend, the USAF will use the test protocols developed during the program to certify the C-17 Globemaster III and then the B-1B to use the fuel. To test these two aircraft, the Air Force has ordered 281,000 US gallons (1,060,000 L) of FT fuel. The Air Force intends to test and certify every airframe in its inventory to use the fuel by 2011. They will also supply over 9,000 US gallons (34,000 L) to NASA for testing in various aircraft and engines. The USAF has certified the B-1B, B-52H, C-17, C-130J, F-4 (as QF-4 target drones), F-15, F-22, and T-38 to use the synthetic fuel blend.

The US Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster III, F-16 and F-15 are certified for use of hydrotreated renewable jet fuels. The US Air Force plans to certify over 40 models for fuels derived from waste oils and plants by 2013. The army is considered one of the few customers of biofuels large enough to potentially bring biofuels up to the volume production needed to reduce costs. The US Navy has also flown a dubbed the "Green Hornet" at 1.7 times the speed of sound using a biofuel blend. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded a $6.7 million project with Honeywell UOP to develop technologies to create jet fuels from biofeedstocks for use by the US and NATO militaries.