WS-125
{{short description|US proposed nuclear powered strategic bomber}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = WS-125
| image = File:WS-125 cutaway drawing.png
| caption = A cutaway drawing of the proposed WS-125 testbed aircraft
| alt = The image has disappeared!
|aim = Long-range Nuclear-powered aircraft strategic bomber
|requirement = WS-125
|issuer = United States Air Force
|service =
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The WS-125 was an American super-long-range strategic bomber project during the Cold War to develop a nuclear-powered aircraft.
Development
In 1954, the United States Air Force (USAF) issued a weapons system requirement for a nuclear-powered bomber, designated WS-125. In 1956, General Electric teamed up with Convair (X211 program) and Pratt & Whitney with Lockheed in competitive engine/airframe development to address the requirement.{{Cite web |url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2018/january/pilot/aviation-history |title=Aviation History: The airplane that never was |date=January 1, 2018 |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.aopa.org}}
In 1956, the USAF decided that the proposed WS-125 bomber was unfeasible as an operational strategic aircraft. Finally, after spending more than $1 billion, the project was cancelled on March 28, 1961.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}
Powerplants
File:Nuclear Jet Engine prototype, INL.jpg, a nuclear aircraft engine prototype at the Idaho National Laboratory ]]
File:Aircraft Reactors Arco ID 2009.jpg
Two General Electric J87 turbojet engines were successfully powered to nearly full thrust using two shielded reactors. Two experimental engines complete with reactor systems (HTRE-3 and HTRE-1, which was modified and renamed HTRE-2) are located at the EBR-1 facility south of the Idaho National Laboratory.
See also
- List of nuclear-powered aircraft
- {{annotated link|Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion}}
- 9M730 Burevestnik (Russia)
- {{annotated link|Project Pluto}}
- {{annotated link|Convair NB-36H}}
- {{annotated link|Convair X-6}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- Butler, Tony (2010). American Secret Projects. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-85780-331-0}}.
{{Nuclear propulsion}}
{{USAF system codes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ws-125}}
Category:Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States
Category:Military aircraft procurement programs of the United States
Category:Nuclear-powered aircraft
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