Lockheed Martin Patents Nuclear Fusion-Powered Fighter Jet
by Tyler Durden March 31, 2018 (zerohedge.com)
• The Maryland-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin has recently obtained a patent associated with its design for a fully compact fusion reactor that could potentially fit into a fighter jet and revolutionize the aeronautic industry. The prototype system would be the size of a normal shipping container but capable of producing enough energy to power 80,000 residential homes or a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
• Nuclear fusion is created when hydrogen gas gets squeezed into four hydrogen nuclei to form one helium atom.
• Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, also known as Skunk Works, has been developing the compact fusion reactor since about 2014, with latest reports suggesting the technology could be ready for production by 2019. The revolutionary part is the compact size of the reactor. Instead of taking five years to design and build a concept, it would now take only a few months.
• As the size of the fusion reactor shrinks, it can be mounted on a truck, aircraft, ship, train, spacecraft, submarine, or even small aerial drones. This could revolutionize the entire transportation industry (not to mention military weaponry). “…the compact fusion reactor could take 11kg of fuel in the form of the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, and run the reactor for an entire year without needing to stop,” said Dr. Thomas McGuire, head of Skunk Works’ Compact Fusion Project.
• The global superpowers know that the first nation to possess these technologies will not just revolutionize their civilian and military programs, but will dictate the future path for civilizations on planet Earth. As such, a new arms race is on.
Lockheed Martin has secretly been developing a game-changing compact nuclear fusion reactor that could potentially fit into a fighter jet. The Maryland-based defense contractor recently obtained a patent associated with its design for a fully compact fusion reactor, after filing for the patent in 2014.
If the latest patent from the defense company serves as a benchmark, nuclear fusion technology could revolutionize the aeronautic industry and eventually begin the quantum leap from fossil fuels to compact fusion reactors for the industry.
According to CBS Washington, the prototype system would be the size of a normal shipping container but capable of producing enough energy to power 80,000 residential homes or a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, sometime in the next year or so.
The patent, tilted “Encapsulating Magnetic Fields for Plasma Confinement,” is dated Feb. 15, 2018. CBS indicates that Skunk Works, also known as Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs or its advanced R&D group, has reportedly been developing the compact fusion reactor since about 2014, with latest reports suggesting the technology could be ready for production by 2019.
Nuclear fusion is the same process of what happens to hydrogen gas in the core of the Sun. Hydrogen gas gets squeezed into four hydrogen nuclei combine to form one helium atom; thus, nuclear fusion is created.
Lockheed said, “Our concept will mimic that process within a compact magnetic container and release energy in a controlled fashion to produce power we can use.” Here is how Lockheed describes nuclear fusion power: Lockheed indicates that the compact size of the reactor has induced a technology revolution, which instead of taking “five years to design and build a concept, it takes only a few months.”
“The compact size is the reason that we believe we will be able to create fusion technology quickly. The smaller the size of the device, the easier it is to build up momentum and develop it faster. Instead of taking five years to design and build a concept, it takes only a few months. If we undergo a few of these testing and refinement cycles, we will be able to develop a prototype within the same five year timespan.”
As the technology advances, the size of the fusion reactor shrinks. Lockheed has dropped the bombshell and indicated the reactor could be ready to mount on “a truck, aircraft, ship, train, spacecraft, or submarine.” Across the board, Lockheed could revolutionize the transportation industry in the very near term.
“Some embodiments may provide a fusion reactor that is compact enough to be mounted on or in a vehicle such as a truck, aircraft, ship, train, spacecraft, or submarine. Some embodiments may provide a fusion reactor that may be utilized in desalination plants or electrical power plants.”
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