From Wired's Danger Room blog: Also at Danger Room, a silent
Jimmy Carter: No unmanned aircraft in the American arsenal flies
higher or longer than the Global Hawk. On Tuesday, it soared
high and long, powered by a blend of synthetic fuel. The
Northrop-built drone touched down late Tuesday night at Edwards
Air Force Base in Southern California after spending more than a
day aloft. Both the Navy and Air Force have flown numerous other
aircraft using other non-traditional jet fuels, but this is both
the first for an unmanned aircraft, and the first time any type
of aircraft has flown with this type of fuel. JP-8 jet fuel (the
kind typically used in the Air Force) was combined with a
synthetic paraffinic kerosene derived from liqufied coal, and
another derived from natural gas, to make up the blend. Along
with other branches of the military, the Air Force is busy
developing and implementing alternatives to the petroleum-based
jet fuels that have powered its turbine powered aircraft since
the late 1940s. The plan