Accession Number:

AD1031576

Title:

Revitalization of Nuclear Powered Flight

Descriptive Note:

Technical Report

Corporate Author:

Air Command and Staff College, Air University Maxwell Air Force Base United States

Personal Author(s):

• Dawson,Todd C

Report Date:

2016-05-01

Pagination or Media Count:

19.0

Abstract:

There has been a lot of talk about the need to develop the third offset, of which human-machine integration seems to have dominated the conversation. The only problem is that our machines are no good unless they have power. Power to fly and run the sensors and weapons the mission requires. Machines for the USAF come in the form of airplanes, which cannot get to the fight without tanker support or stay in the air for a sufficient time. As the USAF looks to the future, it continues to invest heavily in tanker support and operations that are both expensive and not conducive to surviving in a denied environment.

Descriptors:

• aircraft nuclear propulsion
• fighter aircraft
• nuclear weapons
• tanker aircraft
• nuclear energy
• nuclear reactors
• jet engine fuels
• electric engines
• unmanned aerial vehicles
• aircraft industry

Subject Categories:

• Nuclear Propulsion
• Aircraft

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE