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Faster, higher, deadlier: US plans nuclear drones

Published time: April 02, 2012 17:38
Edited time: April 02, 2012 21:38
A U.S. Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile. (Reuters / Massoud Hossaini / Pool)

The United States is planning on building nuclear-powered drones. The innovation will allow an increase in flying time "from days to months," leaving more power available for operating equipment.

­Research for the project was conducted by Sandia National Laboratories, the US government's principal nuclear research and development agency, and defense contractor Northrop Grumman, the Guardian reports.

The technology is to deal with three problems facing the US’ current drone arsenal: insufficient flying time over a potential target, lack of power for running surveillance and weapons systems, and lack of communications capacity.

The team looked at numerous different power systems for large- and medium-sized drones before settling on the nuclear solution.

The research summary deems the technology as highly efficient, saying the results of the research are “to be used in the next generation of unmanned air vehicles used for military and intelligence applications."

However, there is a big concern over safety as drones have a tendency to crash – and should a nuclear-powered drone fall into the hands of terrorists or unfriendly powers, the consequences could be devastating.

Comments (24)

not so proud to be a infidel (unregistered) 20.05.2012 11:45

Proud to be an Infidel wrote in #2
wow, you people really believe everything you read. i love how RT russia today only reports about the USA, and spins everything.  But, i'll keep reading it because thats the beauty of America, we are incouraged to look at things from all sides.  I'm not saying we"re always right, far from it. We're not always wrong either.
OOOOW WOW ! I love that bit - '' thats the beauty of America, we are incouraged to look at things from all sides. ''  I am still laughing with tears ,did you get lost in translation here or something ? The US looking at things from all sides ? That is a bold statement for a country full of racism ,homophobia and a appetite for destruction that cannot see further than its nose ! I cant wait for the day when your own government starts to imprison its own citizens in the new stile concentration camps build for exactly this purpose  with no trial or any charges just in case they may be a threat to national security . You will be singing another song then !

+1

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A.Smith 03.04.2012 21:13

Such purported drones would necessarily require and use highly enriched radioactive fuel, likely plutonium 239.

A mere gram of plutonium 239 powderized and exposed to the winds has the potential to cause 1 MILLION cases of cancer.

A mere ounce of plutonium 239 powderized and placed into the NYC fresh water aquaducts would poison the entire massive NYC fresh water system.

US/Is raeli UAV drones routinely crash. Some are reported when other nations expose that happened, many drone downings go unreported but occur none the less. Presumably, US soldiers would immediately be dispatched to recover any 'nuclear' powered UAV but in no fashion does that guarantee success especially in a hostile nation or in a near impossible enviroment like the world's oceans.

The tiny plutonium reactor would power a electrical generator which in turn would drive the electrical engine on the UAV prop and it's massive onboard sensor array's. However unlikely high lift space rockets, a nuclear fueled UAV COULD NOT have heavy shielding and heavy duty protection cases directly due to the weight constraints therefore that directly opens the way to ignoring the horrific problem if even a small amount of Plutonium escapes into the enviroment, just so US/Israel can spread it's global campaign of fear around the world.

If a citizen shot one down, they would likely if caught be facing all kinds of fabricated charges (recall how after the Times City 'bomber' everyday Propane Tanks are labeled WMD's now).

+17

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Proud to be an Infidel 03.04.2012 11:58

wow, you people really believe everything you read. i love how RT russia today only reports about the USA, and spins everything.  But, i'll keep reading it because thats the beauty of America, we are incouraged to look at things from all sides.  I'm not saying we"re always right, far from it. We're not always wrong either.

0

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