While nuclear submarines and carriers have their drawbacks, a fusion-powered jet may be a big positive for the air force. Lockheed Martin filed a patent for a fusion-powered jet several years ago. The jet would contain a tiny fusion reactor, which is what would power the jet’s engines. Normal jets burn fuel, but a nuclear jet would switch its engine’s combustion chambers for heat exchangers, which Lockheed says would produce the same amount of thrust (via Sandboxx).
A fusion-powered aircraft would also have a number of advantages over a conventionally fuelled one. The main one is, it would never have to refuel. The reactor would contain all the energy the jet would need over its lifetime. This leads to a very useful secondary effect, which is the jet having essentially unlimited range. The U.S. Air Force says an F-16 has a range of around 1,000 miles. That means a jet can travel around 500 miles, hit its target, then make it back to base. A fusion-powered jet will last until the pilot passes out from exhaustion. This may make inter-continental air combat missions routine. It also saves the military a logistics headache, as it would no longer have to transport and store the thousands of gallons of fuel a fleet of jets requires to operate.
The potential amount of energy a fusion reactor can generate also makes energy weapons a possibility. Instead of relying on conventional weapons, the nuclear-powered fighter jets of the future could use high-powered lasers to win dogfights. And if a fusion-powered jet does get shot down, it won’t turn into a dirty bomb. Fusion reactions don’t use radioactive elements like uranium, so the only things emitted from the reactor are hydrogen and helium.
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