Nuclear-Powered Airplanes: An Innovative Idea That Never Becomes True

Clearly, the US Navy has won in the fight to successfully build nuclear-missile submarines even though these machines cost billions of dollars. Due to the advantages of nuclear submarines, some strategists came up with a new idea of making nuclear aircraft. As proved, submarines run on nuclear energy are able to operate a long time below the sea without refueling, expected to be around a half century. Unfortunately, the proposal has never been “got off the ground” regardless of hard work and huge investment.

Strategists came up with a new idea of making nuclear aircrafts

The problems of conventional airplanes

Dangerous Refueling

There were questions raised among engineers during the war regarding “bombers”. The first was how to refuel the airplanes.

Absolutely, traditional bombers had the possibility of running out of energy half-way in the enemy territory. Some scientists offered a solution for aerial refueling. Yet, the goal might be endangered by evasive maneuvers, who separated the two planes while they were on refueling.

Aerial refueling might be endangered by evasive maneuvers

Prohibitively Expensive Costs

Back then, the US intended to use a global network of Air Force bases instead of the above dangerous solution. As a result, $100 million in gold was offered by the US to buy Denmark’s Greenland, new strategic land for bases. However, Denmark denied the proposal and kept Greenland themselves.

The idea of nuclear aircrafts

Activities towards the construction of nuclear-powered flight began as World War II came to an end. Before that, the Italian American physicist Enrico Fermi first raised the idea in 1942.

At the initial time, it seemed like a strategic dream for the US military with a clear vision of traveling around the world and only coming back to the US after finishing the mission.

Enrico Fermi first raised the idea in 1942

However, nuclear bombers also had their own issues.

Bombers’ issues: Shielding and Weight

Firstly, the conditions concerning airplanes’ weight required the reactor to be much smaller. The decrease in size made the reactor release more heat than normal, which could damage itself, together with the airplane.

Secondly, protecting pilots from the radiation was such a challenge to the technical force. While the aircraft needed as lightweight as possible to take off, pilots must have a heavy layer of shielding for the protection. Despite lots of experiments, the campaign failed to deal with the issues of weight and shielding.

The campaign failed to deal with shielding problems

In the last effort to save nuclear-powered airplanes plan, military strategists considered using old pilots in the flights, avoiding concerns about shielding problem. Due to their argument, these pilots would die of natural causes even before being reached by nuclear radiation. However, that shocking proposal still could not save the campaign.

In 1961, President Kennedy canceled the program, regarding it as dangerous, unnecessary and prohibitively expensive.