Discovery Channel - Nuclear Airplane - Part 3 -

The Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program researched and developed two main systems of nuclear powered jet engines. The Direct Air Cycle program was the first of these. Developed by General Electric, this facet of the program was based in Evendale, Ohio. The Direct Air Cycle program was popular because it was simple, reliable and suitable and the engines were able to start quickly. It worked by letting compressed air run through the reactor of a conventional jet engine where it could be heated before being exhausted through the turbine. The X-39 engine was produced by this program and it proved to be highly successful with several upgrades made to the system at later stages. The final HTRE-3 would have most likely been used to power the X-6 nuclear propulsion aircraft if the project hadnt been scrapped.

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[Juanchopepe86]

How about a nuclear powered stealth drone? hmmmm...

Undetected, unmanned, nearly unlimited flight.

[Brera011]

At 3:08 The WS 125 looks like something inspired by "The Thunderbirds" or was it the other way around?

[tgc2j]

Thumbs up if you saw The Loch Ness Monster above the right wing at 7:45 !

[FantomOmega]

@Juanchopepe86

Please don't Skynet anymore ideas to kill me on the run machine invasion in the dead of night

[rhn94]

@samanatorrules sorry on being 8 months too late

[samanatorrules]

@rhn94 yeah. 

[rhn94]

@samanatorrules project pluto im guessing

[oFLYINGYETIo]

LOL @ using radiodurans as protection

[GaunletofDestruction]

Why didn't the military just coat the reactor and crew compartment in Radiodurans????? It would be able to block all the radiation from the reactor and still provide drastically reduced weight.

[dh3684]

@sungmham excellent statement