Fuel Efficiency Monitoring of Military Transport Aircraft Within the Canadian Armed Forces

The aviation fuel used by the Canadian Armed Forces is the single largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the federal family, contributing to approximately one-fifth of the government’s total emissions. In 2017, as part of the Greening Government Strategy, the federal government mandated the Department of National Defence (DND) to develop strategies to decarbonize their fleets. Historically, the CAF’s GHG emissions tracking has been focused on primarily financial tracking and recording total general fuel consumption. Due to this methodology, there are certainly areas whereby more strategic operations and fuel-related data can be targeted with a view to improving the robustness of the current database in this regard. Further, such data collection can be used to improve upon and optimize current ground operations of aircraft with the CAF by providing sound data to support management decisions. Information such as engine type, operating conditions, and other significant variables have direct effects on GHG emissions or aircraft but are not currently systematically collected. Using an initial case study as the backdrop, aircraft performance monitoring has commenced with a view to determining the current uses of fuel (in all phases of ground operations by aircraft) in order to establish a baseline of relevant fuel consumption. This paper highlights the methodology that was developed for this purpose as well as selected initial findings. Resulting trends will be used to populate a database, establish a baseline, analyze the data, optimize ground operations to achieve fuel efficiency, provide re-design options for the airfield and provide input to DND fuel policy. In this way, DND and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in particular, is being proactive in addressing climate change as it is influenced by the production of GHGs.