Boron is a promising additive to hydrocarbon aviation fuels to enhance the volumetric energy density, which in turn leads to better specific impulse in hypersonic ramjet propelled missiles. This perspective article provides a summary of the different preparation methods of nanoboron, with an emphasis on its properties, quality and ease of scale-up. Self-propagating high temperature synthesis is projected as a promising method to produce amorphous nanoboron of high purity via metallothermic reduction of boron oxide. The effects of operating conditions such as time, temperature and concentration of diluent (NaCl) on particle size distribution, purity and yield are evaluated, and compared with the literature. In order to prepare slurries of boron in hydrocarbon fuels that are stable and long-standing, the addition of surfactants is necessary. The importance of Bancroft's rule and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance are evaluated for the preparation of stable boron-fuel suspensions. Examples of stabilization of micron boron and nanoboron in jet fuels using different non-ionic surfactants like Spans and Tweens are discussed. Without any surfactant, complete settling of 10 wt% micon/nanoboron in Jet-A1 and JP-10 fuels occurred within 10 min. An optimized formulation of Span-80 and Tween-80 delayed the complete sedimentation of micron boron by a few days, and led to a much better stability of nanoboron in the fuels for over 7 days. Finally, the challenges and future prospects in scaling up of the nanoboron production process, and the preparation of slurry fuels with good stabilization of boron are discussed. (C) 2020 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.