Indian Air Force’s (IAF) successfully operated AN-32 aircraft powered with 10% blend of Indian bio-jet fuel.
This is the 1st time both engines of the aircraft were powered by bio-jet indigenous fuel where the aircraft took-off from Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh.
The technology to produce this fuel was developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand in 2013.
The project was sponsored by IAF in 2018 for the fuel testing.
Bio-jet fuel is produced from non-edible ‘Tree Borne Oils’.
They are grown and procured from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.