(no subject)

[major_clanger]

New Scientist report that the US Air Force is examining the feasibility of building a nuclear-powered remote-controlled aircraft. It would be a variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk long-range reconnaissance drone modified to be powered by a novel quantum nucleonics reactor.

Even with my military engineering hat on this sounds rather barking, although I have to admit that it still pales into insignificance besides its 1950s forbear, the Project Pluto low-altitude supersonic nuclear ramjet missile. Now that was an idea so deranged it ended featuring up in one of autopope's short stories...

(Said story being the very good A Colder War, should anyone have missed it. Go, read, and gibber.)

MC

Comments

Pluto

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Wasn't the point of Pluto that the exhaust was so nasty that it was better to fly round and round the countryside spewing out noxious fumes than ever hit anything?

Re: Pluto

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

No - it carries a few 500 megaton bombs to drop *as well* as spewing out nuclear exhaust and, through flying at mach 3 at 50 feet, pulverising any buildings it happens to pass by.

And still it couldn't kill..... Too horrible to thinkg of.... (read the story)....

Project Pluto

[autopope.livejournal.com]

You can find details of Project Pluto at http://merkle.com/pluto/ -- it's maintained by nanotech guy Ralph Merkle, who turns out to be the son of the head engineering honcho on the project. (Is being a Mad Scientist hereditary or something?)

Re: Project Pluto

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that's a much better link. Indeed, it's a copy of the original article from which I first heard about Project Pluto, and which I have a copy of in my 'wierd and interesting stuff' file.

MC

[daveon.livejournal.com]

Wasn't there also some lunatic plan for a long duration nuclear bomber in the 1950's which couldn't get off the ground. I'm sure I read that all the parts were stuck around Jackass Flats (?) with other stuff in "do not open before Christmas 3001" labels on them.