In 1964, the US built and then shelved Project Pluto, a nuclear-powered cruise missile concept abandoned largely over radiation hazards. Russia has revived the idea with Burevestnik, a direct-cycle turbojet that heats incoming air with a reactor and can shed radioactive isotopes along its flight path, a risk underscored by a 2019 White Sea test […]Russia Is Reviving a 1964 US Nuclear-Powered Missile Idea, Despite the Radiation Risk
In 1964, the US built and then shelved Project Pluto, a nuclear-powered cruise missile concept abandoned largely over radiation hazards. Russia has revived the idea with Burevestnik, a direct-cycle turbojet that heats incoming air with a reactor and can shed radioactive isotopes along its flight path, a risk underscored by a 2019 White Sea test […]