The already gargantuan aircraft was further weighed down with 11 tonnes of. The only nuclear powered aircraft that flew in the west was a heavily modified convair b 36 bomber in the early 1950s. Small non nuclear light.
Or the pentagon could double down on a concept that has become popular in recent years. The consensus could be more giant nuclear powered aircraft carriers. North american aj a 2 savage nuclear attack.
North american a 5 vigilante reconnaissance bomber united states. Mcdonnell douglas f a 18 hornet fighter attack aircraft united states. Mcdonnell douglas f 4 phantom ii fighter bomber united states.
The advantage of a nuclear powered aircraft over a conventionally powered aircraft is that it could remain airborne orders of magnitude longer and provide an. The united states aircraft reactor experiment are was a 2 5 mw th thermal spectrum nuclear reactor experiment designed to attain a high power density and high output temperature for use as an engine in a nuclear powered bomber aircraft. Unlike tactical bombers penetrators fighter bombers and attack aircraft which are used in air interdiction operations to attack enemy combatants and military equipment.
A strategic bomber is a medium to long range penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air to ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy s capacity to wage war. During the cold war the united states and soviet union researched nuclear powered bomber aircraft the greater endurance of which could enhance nuclear deterrence. The intention was to produce a jet engine that would heat compressed air with heat from fission instead of heat from burning fuel.
A nuclear powered aircraft is a concept for an aircraft intended to be powered by nuclear energy.
