Australian Army CH-47F Chinook flown in SAF program.
Article & Images: Jaryd Stock
An Australian Army CH-47F Chinook from the 5th Aviation Regiment C Squadron based in Townsville refuelled with about 3000lbs of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at RAAF Base East Sale in southern Victoria last month.
In a joint initiative with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Australian Defence Force’s Joint Capabilities Group, Army is making regular use of the recently certified fuel.
SAF is a liquid fuel derived from renewable sources. Its use is primarily driven by the need for security of fuel supplies through lower reliance on conventional fuels.
With three CH-47’s deployed from Townsville to partake in the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport, The refuelling conducted at RAAF Base East Sale demonstrated the ADF’s ability to pivot to use the fuel when it is produced domestically in coming years.
All Australian Army helicopters operations will include SAF loads in the future.
12-month pilot program using SAF commenced in February at RAAF Base East Sale. The SAF pilot program marks a significant milestone in Defence’s ongoing efforts to increase energy resilience and adopt climate mitigation strategies, as highlighted in the 2024 National Defence Strategy.
This pilot program contributes to Defence’s plan to transition to the use of lower-carbon energy types, without detriment to military capability, preparedness or interoperability with allies.
The Defence Net Zero Strategy and Defence Future Energy Strategy work hand in hand to provide an actionable pathway to support net zero targets and accelerate Defence’s transition to clean energy.
All ADF aircraft are certified to use SAF, which is compliant with existing military aviation fuel standards and consistent with standards used by Australia’s allies and partners.
Certified for Defence use in 2023, the Air Force demonstrated the use of SAF with the RAAF demonstration team the Roulettes which operate the Pilatus PC-21, conducting a flying display fuelled by a SAF blend at the 2023 Newcastle-Williamtown Airshow.
This year Air Force, in collaboration with Joint Capability Group, expanded the initiative to a 12-month pilot activity at RAAF Base East Sale, making the base the first airfield in Australia routinely using a SAF blend.
HQ Aviation Command’s Director of Aviation Capability Management, Colonel Brenton Mellor, said Army’s continuing participation in the initiative ensured its aviators and support personnel understood the strategic significance of SAF and could see how the fuel functioned the same as conventional aviation turbine fuel.
“SAF will be an important element in keeping Army aircraft in the air,” Colonel Mellor said.
“Being able to increase our fuel stocks while maintaining our military capability and interoperability with allies increases our resilience, effectiveness and deterrence.
“The stopover by the Chinook at East Sale is an important milestone for the use of SAF across Defence, and Army Aviation looks forward to greater availability of synthetic aviation turbine fuels.”
CH-47F Chinook serial A15-302 nicknamed Centurion arriving at Avalon Airport prior to the commencement of the Australian International Airshow 2025.
Jaryd Stock is based in Sydney Australia. He has been a die-hard aviation enthusiast from a young age when he was chauffeured around by his father to various airshows and airports around Australia. At his first Airshow he witnessed the awesomeness of a General Dynamics F-111C and immediately fell in love with aviation.
Jaryd picked up a camera at a young age and has never looked back. He now combines photography and writing to highlight “Downunder” aviation; especially U.S. DoD units. Jaryd uses Nikon cameras and lenses.