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A tantalizing target for U.S. enemies. //
There are a lot of risks to public safety from this plan. //
On January 18, the Pentagon published a Request for Information on the feasibility of developing a portable nuclear reactor in support of a program known as “Project Dilithium.” The reactor is in response to a 2016 Defense Science Board report that found that fuel and water accounted for as much as 90 percent of supplies sent to outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which in turn exposed U.S. truck convoys to ambush (air-dropped fuel cost as much as $400 per gallon). //
The goal is to provide reliable electrical power to remote forward operating bases and during quick-response humanitarian missions. But the project also raises questions of nuclear security and keeping atomic materials from falling into the wrong hands. //
Noel Wauchope
a day ago
The article doesn't explain why it is "a horrible idea". Where's the rest of this story? //
Jim Laner
a day ago
There are Gen 4 fission (not fusion) nuclear generating technologies emerging that are low pressure, low waste, non-water-cooled, walk-away-safe, factory-built, and non-proliferative that are appropriate for the intended purpose stated by the Pentagon. The world ise about a decade away from their wide scale deployment. Their development is based on actual working prototypes developed at OaK Ridge National Labs. See: Molten Salt Reactor Experiment and do some research. NOT the same solid uranium fueled water cooled units as in today's commercial fleet technology.