The U.S. Air Force appears set to go electric. According to TheDefensePost.com, the Air Force has successfully completed test flights with BETA Technologies ALIA all-electric fixed-wing aircraft.
The series of test flights evaluated the plane's performance in real-world scenarios like resupply, cargo delivery, and personnel transport, including during combat. The plane can carry up to five people or 500 pounds of cargo, has a range of 288 miles, and can be recharged in less than an hour.
The test flights were done in conjunction with the Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC), and included some multiday exercises. The missions involved a series of cross-country flights, including a simulated medical evacuation between two bases, before wrapping up with a series of flights between Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
"It brings key innovation to the mission," said 305th Maintenance Squadron Production Controller Alyxandra Scalone. "It's going to make things faster and simpler."
BETA has been working with AFWERX, the Air Force's research and innovation wing, since 2020, and wrapped up the first round of testing earlier this year. This latest round of real-world simulations is the next step in putting electric aircraft to use in real situations.
The U.S. has the largest Air Force in the world, and it's not particularly close. The U.S. Air Force boasts an arsenal of over 13,000 aircraft. It will take some time to transition to electric, not just due to the size of the fleet, but also because of the various missions required by the aircraft.
Transitioning that large of a fleet away from dirty energy and to electric will have a positive impact on the planet. The dirty energy currently used to power the fleet adds carbon pollution to the atmosphere and contributes to the warming of the planet, which results in extreme weather events and threatens the global food supply.
The U.S. Navy, which has the world's second-largest air force, is also exploring the use of electric aircraft.
The move toward clean energy in aviation has taken off in recent years. The world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, CATL, recently successfully tested a battery capable of powering a four-ton electric passenger plane. On top of that, another company, Joby Aviation, recently completed a 500-mile flight in a hybrid aircraft using hydrogen-electric technology that could redefine regional travel.
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