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The New and Improved Tomahawk Missile Now Runs on Corn

Photo credit:  PO1 Carmichael Yepez/DVIDS
Photo credit: PO1 Carmichael Yepez/DVIDS

From Popular Mechanics

  • Modern cruise missiles are powered by turbine engines running off JP-10.

  • Scientists at Los Alamos National Labs have created a new formulation of JP-10 that uses feedstocks instead of petroleum.

  • The result is a domestic, renewable fuel source that the lab believes will be significantly cheaper to use.


One of the nation’s most prestigious national labs has developed a new fuel substitute for the same jet fuel that powers cruise missiles. Los Alamos National Labs has come up with a replacement fuel for JP-10 that uses corn bran and other feedstocks instead of petroleum products. The result is a fuel that can be sourced directly from America’s most plentiful crop, bypassing foreign sources.

The Tomahawk missile is one of the most plentiful missiles in the US military arsenal. Developed in the 1970s, Tomahawk was one of the first low-altitude, radar-evading cruise missiles to enter service, and today 145 U.S. Navy warships carry the missile daily as part of their standard missile loadout. Unlike other missiles that are powered by rocket motors, the Tomahawk and others like it are powered by turbine engines, in effect miniature, single-use airplane engines that trade speed for fuel efficiency and range. These engines, like their bigger, more powerful cousins run on JP-10 jet fuel.

Photo credit: Mark Wilson - Getty Images
Photo credit: Mark Wilson - Getty Images

The U.S. Navy sits on a stockpile of 4,000 Tomahawk missiles, each powered by a Williams International F415 turbofan engine, making JP-10 an important part of the fleet’s inventory. The result, LANL says, is a fuel that can be made entirely within the United States, using home-made agricultural products. Unlike petroleum-based JP-10, the feedstock-based method doesn’t require harsh acids to manufacture, making it more environmentally friendly to use as well.

The fuel is made with a byproduct of the process for making corn-based ethanol, making more efficient use of the corn and giving ethanol manufacturers an incentive to manufacture it.

Photo credit: Mark Wilson - Getty Images
Photo credit: Mark Wilson - Getty Images

Perhaps the most important aspect of the new formulation: it’s entirely renewable and made with America’s largest crop. American farmers plant 90 million acres of corn every year, which is then used in everything from high fructose corn syrup to feeding livestock. This ensures a steady supply of feedstock that is less susceptible to market volatility. LANL believes that a JP-10 market dominated by the new fuel could drop prices 50 percent, with all of the planting, processing, and refining done in the U.S., which will also create American jobs.

LANL believes that JP-10’s high energy density might lead more high-performance jet engines to use the fuel. This would result in planes with longer ranges or that need to carry less fuel to get from Point A to Point B. If so, this new fuel could be yet another military innovation that carries over to the civilian world.

Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory

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