Engineers at compact fusion company nT-Tao have brought a 50-megawatt pulsed-power subsystem into active service. The hardware delivers high-energy bursts to the company’s C3 prototype, a machine designed to test magnetic confinement in dense plasma regimes.

This installation marks a critical step toward exceeding 1.5 million degrees Celsius, the highest thermal benchmark recorded on the platform to date.

Injecting large bursts of electricity into an ionized gas triggers severe circuit instability. As the plasma heats up during each pulse, its internal electrical properties fluctuate within fractions of a millisecond. These rapid swings alter the electrical impedance of both the plasma and the delivery hardware.

“The power must also be controlled precisely as the electrical characteristics of the system and the plasma change rapidly during each pulse,” said the company in a press release.

If the supply fails to match these shifts instantly, electrical resonance breaks down and the gas reflects energy back into the driving circuits. To prevent this loss, nT-Tao paired the 50-megawatt unit with a proprietary real-time nonlinear control system.

Nonlinear real-time tuning

The controller tracks circuit changes during the pulse and updates operating parameters continuously. This active tuning maintains resonance throughout the discharge, ensuring maximal energy transfers into the plasma core under fast-varying conditions.

CTO and co-founder Boaz Weinfeld pointed out that generating 50 megawatts is relatively straightforward compared to the task of coordinating 50 separate modules in real time. The primary engineering accomplishment lies in forcing multiple units to function as one synchronized circuit.

The physical power supply expands the company’s Modular Energy Generator Architecture, known as MEGA. The setup distributes the power load across 50 compact units called Power Electronic Generators (PEGs), rather than relying on a single, large power source. Each PEG produces approximately 1 megawatt of output.

Technicians grouped these generators into ten parallel branches, placing five parallel-wired modules on each branch. The complete network operates across switching frequencies between 50 and 2,000 kilohertz.

“It represents a roughly five-fold scale-up from an earlier generation that integrated 12 PEGs into an approximately 10 MW system,” added the company.

Hardware scalability and recent milestones

Using 1-megawatt modules provides practical manufacturing and operational advantages. Technicians can connect modules in series or parallel arrangements to meet specific circuit requirements. According to Weinfeld, fusion systems that cannot be produced at scale will fail commercially. Standardized, repeatable modules keep the physical footprint compact and allow capacity growth without redesigning core hardware.

The 50-megawatt power feed supports a broader strategy to turn plasma physics theory into viable, compact reactor hardware. Assembly took two months, with the machine reaching operational status and firing initial plasma pulses in January.

That testbed followed an earlier experimental series with the C2-A machine, which registered plasma temperatures around 100 electronvolts, or about 10^6 degrees Celsius.

By combining modular power electronics with high-speed nonlinear controls, the team has established the electrical drive required to push plasma past those early milestones toward commercial reactor temperatures.

“Together, the 50 PEGs and the real-time controller form the power architecture subsystem intended to deliver large amounts of energy to the plasma in precisely controlled pulses, moving nT-Tao closer to its next temperature milestone on the path toward a commercially viable compact fusion system,” concluded the company.

V2X, a U.S. defense technology company, will help integrate the Air Force’s next-generation Long Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile with B-52 bombers under a $46 million order.

Announced on September 15, the work involves producing carriage equipment that will support the deployment of the new weapon from the B-52 Stratofortress. 

The LRSO will replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile the service currently uses, helping maintain its long-range strike capability against evolving threats.

Based in Reston, Virginia, V2X provides integrated mission solutions across the air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. Its work includes engineering, manufacturing, sustainment, and mission support for defense customers.

Preparing B-52s for the LRSO missile

V2X was awarded a position on the delivery order through the Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract, an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract.

Under the order, the company will produce the carriage equipment needed to support the integration of the LRSO weapon system with the B-52. 

The equipment will help prepare the bomber to carry the new cruise missile as the Air Force advances the wider modernization program.

The LRSO is designed for deployment from the B-52 and will replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile currently in service. According to V2X, the transition will ensure that the Air Force retains an effective long-range strike capability for decades to come.

Strengthening the US strategic deterrent

The U.S. Air Force considers the LRSO program a critical modernization effort and an essential part of the country’s strategic deterrent.

V2X said its role in the program reinforces the company’s involvement in advancing next-generation defense capabilities. The carriage equipment will support mission readiness while enabling the Air Force to integrate its new weapon with the existing bomber platform.

“Supporting the modernization of the B-52 and our nation’s strategic deterrent is a responsibility we take seriously,” said Jeremy C. Wensinger, President and Chief Executive Officer of V2X. 

“This award reflects the trust our customer places in V2X to deliver high-quality solutions that enable mission success and support one of the Air Force’s highest modernization priorities,” he added.

Supporting complex defense missions

V2X develops solutions that combine physical and digital environments by aligning people, actions, and technology. The company works across different stages of a critical mission’s lifecycle to improve readiness, strengthen security, and optimize resource management.

Its experience in engineering, manufacturing, sustainment, and mission support enables it to help customers address complex defense challenges and evolving operational requirements.

The LRSO assignment expands that work by placing V2X within a major Air Force modernization program. Its production responsibilities will directly support the equipment required to integrate the cruise missile with the B-52.

Through the effort, V2X will help prepare the bomber fleet for a new generation of long-range weapons as the Air Force moves to replace its currently fielded Air-Launched Cruise Missile.

Nitride Global, a US developer of advanced thermal-management, dielectric, and semiconductor materials, will study a centimeter-scale quantum sensor designed to support navigation when GPS signals are unavailable.

The Wichita-based company announced on September 14 that it had received an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract supporting the Department of the Air Force.

The project will assess the feasibility of a microwave atom-chip quantum sensor for precision navigation and remote-sensing gravimetry.

Known as the Atom-Interferometer Microwave Atom Chip, or A-MAC, the proposed device will be evaluated using Nitride Global’s aluminum oxynitride platform.

Navigation without satellite signals

The project addresses a challenge faced by Airmen and Guardians operating in environments where GPS signals may be jammed, spoofed, or completely unavailable.

Conventional inertial navigation systems accumulate errors over time. Without periodic satellite updates, those errors cause positional uncertainty to increase, restricting how long and how far a platform can operate independently.

Atom interferometers offer a potential alternative because they measure acceleration and rotation against the wavelength of a matter wave. Nitride Global said these systems are among the most stable inertial sensors demonstrated so far.

However, most leading systems still occupy a meter or more of laboratory bench space. According to the company, the principal obstacle to miniaturization is the packaging surrounding the sensor rather than its underlying physics.

Compact microwave atom chips continue to rely on distributed radio-frequency hardware. The resulting heat and phase drift can degrade measurements, making the technology difficult to deploy outside controlled laboratory environments.

Bringing microwave hardware onto one board

Nitride Global’s A-MAC architecture is intended to consolidate the distributed microwave chain onto a single integrated board.

Its thin, conformal AlON dielectric material would allow microwave routing, coupling structures, and trap geometry to be positioned within the same stack. Heat would move outward through metal instead of passing through a bulk ceramic substrate.

The aim is to create a centimeter-scale architecture suitable for platforms with strict size, weight, and power requirements.

Nitride Global will work with Dr. Seth Aubin, associate professor of physics at William & Mary.

Aubin’s atomic physics group will participate as a subcontractor and research partner, bringing more than a decade of work on microwave atom-chip traps and related trapping physics.

During the initial phase, the partners will model the architecture’s thermal behavior, microwave insertion loss, coupling, and possible trap geometries. The work will conclude with a decision gate and technical roadmap for a potential second phase.

From laboratories to contested environments

The technology could eventually support satellite-independent positioning, navigation, and timing across hypersonic vehicles, unmanned aircraft, orbital systems, submerged platforms, autonomous ground vehicles, and UAV interceptors.

Commercial applications could include resource exploration, infrastructure monitoring, and subsurface mapping.

“Quantum inertial sensing has been constrained for the same reason power electronics were constrained a decade ago: the limit is set by the package, not by the physics. If microwave routing and thermal management can be carried on the same material system, the instrument becomes small enough to fly,” said Mahyar Khosravi, CEO of Nitride Global.

The company is now seeking input from aerospace and defense integrators to define the sensor’s form factor, environmental requirements, and performance thresholds.

Holcim, a global building materials and solutions company, has agreed to deploy two Joule Hive Thermal Battery units developed by Boston-based Electrified Thermal Solutions as part of its industrial electrification roadmap.

Announced on September 15, the agreement will allow the building materials company to evaluate electric heating technology for its high-temperature cement operations.

The batteries will store clean electricity as heat inside electrically and thermally conductive bricks.

That energy can then be discharged on demand at temperatures reaching 3,275°F, offering Holcim a potential route to reduce its reliance on combustion for industrial heat.

Electrifying one of industry’s hardest processes

Cement production requires process temperatures that regularly exceed the capabilities of conventional electric heating systems. As a result, combustion has remained the default means of generating heat across much of the sector.

Electrified Thermal’s technology is designed to address this limitation by converting electricity into heat and retaining it inside specially developed bricks. The stored thermal energy can later be supplied to an industrial process when required.

The initial deployment will include two Joule Hive Thermal Battery units. However, the companies did not disclose where the systems will be installed or when they are expected to begin operating.

“Electrifying high-temperature industrial heat is one of the advanced technologies we are incorporating in our decarbonization strategy, and this deployment allows us to evaluate its potential,” said Ram Muthu, Head of Operational Excellence at Holcim.

“Working with Electrified Thermal gives us a path to accelerate decarbonization as part of our industry-shaping sustainability roadmap,” he added.

From clean electricity to extreme heat

Industrial heat accounts for roughly one-fifth of global energy consumption. The processes requiring the highest temperatures, including those used in cement, steel and chemical production, have largely remained beyond the reach of existing electric alternatives.

By delivering temperatures of up to 3,275°F, the Joule Hive system is intended to bring electrification into this particularly difficult segment. The Holcim agreement also gives Electrified Thermal its third global industrial partner across the cement, steel and chemical sectors.

“Holcim’s decision to deploy our technology validates years of work to bring electrified heat to high-temperature industrial-scale applications that no other technology or company can achieve,” said Daniel Stack, CEO and co-founder of Electrified Thermal Solutions.

“This agreement follows the recent turn-on and successful 1,000+ hours of operation of our commercial demonstration system and shows that global industrial producers are ready to move this technology from demonstration to deployment. We look forward to expanding this relationship with Holcim over time,” he added.

Moving beyond the demonstration stage

The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the companies, with Holcim also participating as an investor in Electrified Thermal Solutions.

It follows the commissioning of Electrified Thermal’s commercial demonstration system in San Antonio, Texas, earlier in 2026. The megawatt-scale installation has completed more than 1,000 hours of operation, according to the company.

The Holcim deployment will now take the technology from demonstration toward use by a major industrial producer. Both companies are also evaluating further opportunities to deploy the thermal battery across Holcim’s operations.

Researchers at the Swiss institutes of ETH Zurich and Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen have produced an intense beam of cold atoms that they plan to use to test Einstein’s theory of gravity. This cold beam consists of muonium, a second-generation antiparticle, and the researchers want to test its interaction with gravity to know if another force of nature also exists that we haven’t spotted yet. 

The matter we see around us is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, which scientists call the first generation of particles. The other two generations of particles are heavier than the first-generation particles but also unstable and rapidly decay into first-generation particles. 

A muon is the heavier cousin of an electron from the second generation of particles. Researchers at PSI have successfully generated muons and their antiparticles using a particle accelerator. When such an antimuon combines with an electron, a neutral muonium atom is formed. Together with researchers at ETH Zurich, the scientists want to measure how the muonium atom falls under gravity. 

Gravity on second-generation particles

From the times of Galileo, through Newton and then Einstein, physicists have confirmed the universality of free fall. This equivalence principle states that all bodies inside a gravitational field fall with the same acceleration, irrespective of their mass or internal structure. 

Einstein used this principle as a foundational pillar for this famous theory of relativity, but this has only been tested on matter and antimatter particles of the first generation. Measuring this on a muonium atom would be the first instance of testing it on a second-generation particle. 

Muonium is well suited for this experiment because it is electrically neutral. In comparison, a charged particle can be impacted by stray magnetic fields and mask the effect of the weak force of gravity. 

How muonium beam helps

A major hurdle in performing such an experiment has been the quick decay of muonium. In addition to their rapid decay in just 2.2 microseconds, muonium produced in previous attempts also traveled at different speeds, making it difficult to conduct experiments with them. 

PSI researchers used a quantum fluid to generate a steady flow of muonium atoms. “We used superfluid helium that was cooled to near absolute zero at minus 273 degrees Celsius,” explained Jesse Zhang, researcher at PSI in a press release. “Superfluid helium is a so-called quantum liquid in which the individual helium atoms lose their identity and do not like impurities inside.”

Antimouns generated in the PSI’s particle accelerator were then shot into the quantum liquid, where they meet free electrons and form the muonium atom. A positive chemical potential formed during this reaction kicks the muonium atom to the surface, where the chemical potential is converted to kinetic energy, shooting it vertically out of the liquid. 

The researchers now plan to build an interferometer that will use the wave properties of the muonium atom to create an interference pattern capable of detecting the impact of gravity on the muonium. The device might take two to three years to build, but when ready, it will answer an important question that has long been pending: does gravity act differently on exotic matter? 

If gravity does indeed act differently, it would point to the presence of a fifth force of nature. For now, the team is focused on determining if the equivalence principle applies to the second generation of particles. 

The research findings were published in the journal Nature Physics.

A newly developed CT scanner small enough to hold in one hand can now produce detailed 3D images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics. Researchers built the Xtomo-Cube, a device roughly the size of a desktop speaker. It weighs just 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), earning it a nickname that undersells just how compact it really is.

Liu Baodong, a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and general manager of the company behind the device, described the machine’s standing plainly. It holds the title of world’s smallest and lightest CT system, earning it the nickname “palm-sized CT scanner.”

The device carries a spatial resolution of 80 micrometers, roughly the width of a human hair. That precision lets it analyze objects ranging from snail shells to medicine capsules.

Squeezed into four liters

The machine draws only about 200 watts of power, low enough to run off an ordinary portable power bank during fieldwork. Liu said every key component, including the X-ray source, rotating platform, and detector, was developed and manufactured domestically.

The previous record holder for smallest CT machine was a German-developed device weighing 19 kilograms, more than three times the new scanner’s weight. Liu described the central engineering challenge as squeezing an X-ray source, detector, and rotating platform into a four-liter package while still maintaining fine imaging detail.

From 3 meters to handheld

CT scanning uses X-rays captured from multiple angles to build a detailed 3D model of an object’s internal structure. The first clinical CT scanner appeared in London in 1971, built by British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield. That original machine measured 3 meters (9.8 feet) long, could only scan a patient’s head, and took roughly five minutes to generate just two 2D images.

Hospitals today rely on CT scanners routinely to spot tumors, internal bleeding, and other injuries. Researchers also use similar machines to examine fossils, archaeological finds, and industrial components without causing damage. Despite those expanding applications, CT scanners have remained large and heavy. A typical hospital scanner stands roughly 2 meters tall and wide and weighs around 2 metric tons, while some industrial systems grow even larger.

Liu compared the range of CT scanners to vehicles, from sports cars to trucks, describing the new device as the compact car of the category. He said the goal was never to scan everything, but specifically to look inside small objects that existing large machines handle poorly.

The scanner’s compact size and relatively low-energy X-rays could also suit university classrooms and research labs. Unlike many commercial CT systems, its settings and raw imaging data remain open to users. That openness lets students and researchers experiment directly with how CT images are collected, reconstructed, and improved.

Aerial mapping crews have long faced an awkward tradeoff: fly low enough to resolve a power line, and a single mission barely covers a fraction of the corridor. Fly high enough to cover ground efficiently, and thin objects that matter most start disappearing into the noise. Ouster says its Rev8 OS1 Max native color lidar sensor eliminates that compromise, delivering twice the precision and accuracy of its previous generation for drone-based mapping.

The company announced surging customer momentum for the sensor. Payload integrators and drone manufacturers across the aerial mapping market are selecting it for utility corridor inspection, infrastructure management, and defense applications. Powered by Ouster’s L4 Max chip, the sensor pairs 256 channels of survey-grade 3D range data with native 48-bit color. That combination lets operators maintain fine detail even at high survey altitudes.

Twice the prior precision

The Rev8 OS1 Max produces low-noise point clouds with thin surface walls. It reaches plus-or-minus 0.25 centimeters of precision and plus-or-minus 1.25 centimeters of accuracy, twice the precision and accuracy of the previous Rev7 generation. Every sensor undergoes calibration across range, reflectivity, temperature, and beam angle before shipping, keeping results consistent from one unit to the next.

Tighter beam collimation gives the sensor a spot size up to 50 percent smaller than Rev7. That keeps power lines, wires, branches, and canopy gaps cleanly resolved rather than blurring into surrounding surfaces. With 200 meters of range at 10 percent reflectivity, that detail holds at the altitudes mapping teams typically fly, roughly 80 to 120 meters above ground. That range lets operators fly wider swaths and cover corridors in fewer passes.

Color at the sensor

Unlike conventional systems that align a separate camera with lidar data afterward, the Rev8 OS1 Max assigns RGB color values directly at the detector. Because color and geometry are captured by the same sensor at the silicon level, there’s no parallax between them and no separate calibration step. That design shortens the colorization work that normally sits between flight and finished deliverable.

Ouster’s Rev8 OS digital lidar sensors are designed and developed in the US. They comply with supply chain security standards under Section 164 of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The company also offers Build America, Buy America Act-certified sensors for government, utility, and enterprise operators with domestic sourcing requirements.

Built for harsh conditions

The sensor carries IP68 and IP69K ingress protection, 100 G shock resistance, and an operating range of minus 40 to plus 85 degrees Celsius. It’s built to handle extreme weather across multirotor and fixed-wing drone platforms. Stuart Landesberg, CEO of drone mapping company Seneca, said the durability rating has proven invaluable for fire agency partners operating in unforgiving heat and cold. It lets crews fly in conditions that would ground other platforms.

Frank Darmayan, CEO of GeoCue, said pairing the company’s TrueView payloads with the Rev8 OS1 Max lets it offer a compliant, high-performance option for customers monitoring critical infrastructure. Beyond aerial surveying, Flyability is evaluating Ouster’s Rev8 OS0 lidar for its collision-tolerant Elios 3 drone, aiming to bring native color 3D mapping into hazardous, GPS-denied industrial environments. Ouster is showcasing the Rev8 OS1 Max at INTERGEO in Munich this week, running September 15 through 17.

BAE Systems has unveiled a new electronic warfare family aimed at giving small aircraft stronger protection in contested airspace. The Shadow EW family targets a growing need for compact systems that can fit space-constrained platforms.

The new products focus on electronic sensing and self-protection without demanding the size, weight, or power of traditional systems. BAE Systems also designed them for rapid production, making larger-scale deployment more practical.

The architecture uses commercially available microchips to support computing needs and simplify the supply chain. That approach could help BAE Systems produce systems faster as demand for affordable EW grows.

Compact EW

Small drones and other airborne systems increasingly operate near sophisticated electronic threats. Their limited payload capacity makes traditional EW equipment difficult to integrate.

Shadow EW addresses that constraint with small, lightweight hardware designed around open architecture principles. The systems can also receive software updates after deployment.

That software-defined approach gives operators another way to respond as adversaries change their electronic signatures and tactics. Hardware configurations can also adapt to different platforms and mission requirements.

BAE Systems says the family can support both manned and unmanned aircraft. Its platform-agnostic design aims to preserve valuable payload capacity while adding radio-frequency capabilities.

The systems can support several EW functions, including threat awareness, targeting, deception, and survivability. They can also participate in collaborative electronic effects across multiple platforms.

Commercial chips drive scale

BAE Systems is leaning on commercial components to make high-volume EW production more achievable. Commercial microchips can provide substantial computing performance without requiring specialized hardware for every configuration.

The strategy also reduces dependence on highly customized components. That can simplify procurement and help manufacturers respond more quickly to changing production requirements.

Production scalability sits at the center of Shadow EW’s design philosophy. BAE Systems plans to use established manufacturing methods to support larger orders and faster deliveries.

That matters as the U.S. military explores more affordable ways to equip increasingly numerous autonomous and expendable systems. Electronic warfare capability becomes harder to scale when every platform requires an expensive bespoke solution.

Software keeps EW adaptable

Shadow EW separates much of the system’s adaptability from its physical hardware. Operators can configure capabilities around specific threats and platform architectures.

Software updates provide another path for changing the system after deployment. That flexibility could prove important against adversaries that frequently modify their electronic warfare techniques.

Rebecca Cruz, director of Shadow EW products at BAE Systems, said battlefield conditions are changing rapidly. She said even smaller platforms need adaptable electronic warfare protection.

The family is designed around a configurable approach that lets customers select capabilities suited to individual missions. BAE Systems describes the result as an affordable Electronic Warfare option built for broader fielding.

The company has not disclosed specific performance figures for individual Shadow EW variants. Details such as detection ranges, frequency coverage, power consumption, and platform integration options remain limited.

The engineering approach focuses on shrinking EW hardware while using software to keep the systems adaptable. Commercial-scale manufacturing also helps BAE Systems keep production costs under control.

A Wisconsin battery materials company has secured a $1.25 million US Department of Energy contract to scale production of an anode material designed to reduce reliance on mined graphite and improve how lithium-ion battery systems track their charge.

COnovate will use the 24-month development contract to advance commercial-scale production of its eCOphite anode material. The award comes through the DOE’s Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Program.

Unlike conventional graphite anodes, eCOphite is positioned as a graphite alternative that can be used as an additive with existing anode materials. The company says the material can be produced domestically from renewable feedstocks and does not require mining.

The technology is aimed at a specific problem in lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. These batteries have a relatively flat voltage curve across much of their usable range, making it harder for battery management systems to determine how much charge remains.

New graphite alternative

COnovate says eCOphite can introduce a durable voltage reference point into the battery. That additional signal could allow existing battery management systems to estimate state of charge more accurately as a battery operates.

More accurate state-of-charge information can help battery operators monitor systems and manage battery packs over longer operating periods. The company says this could improve system visibility while reducing downtime, warranty exposure, and costs associated with maintenance and battery augmentation.

The $1.25 million award is focused on scaling and qualification rather than simply developing the material in the laboratory. COnovate says the work will help qualify eCOphite at commercial scale and demonstrate its compatibility with existing battery manufacturing infrastructure.

“This award is an important step toward qualifying eCOphite material at commercial scale and strengthening a domestic supply battery materials supply chain,” said Craig Rigby, President and CEO of COnovate.

The company says its approach is intended to make adoption easier because manufacturers would not necessarily need to redesign their existing production infrastructure to use the material.

Battery controls get sharper

The technology is based on graphene monoxide, which COnovate describes as the basis of its eCOphite anode material. The company says it holds patents covering the development and commercialization of products for the lithium-ion battery industry.

The domestic production angle is also central to the DOE-backed project. Graphite is a key battery material, and securing alternative sources and production methods is part of efforts to strengthen US battery supply chains.

Under the contract, COnovate will continue scaling US production while working toward commercial qualification of the material. The project is supported by the DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation under Award Number DE-EE0011730.

For LFP batteries, the company is targeting an issue that is less visible than energy density or charging speed but important for operating battery systems: accurately knowing the remaining charge. By adding a measurable voltage reference, eCOphite is designed to give battery management systems another signal to work with.

Chinese researchers have outlined a future tank that could generate its own power and strike targets hundreds of miles away. The concept combines a compact nuclear reactor with a 50-megajoule electromagnetic railgun.

The proposed vehicle would weigh about 60 tonnes. A 10-megawatt-class small modular reactor would supply its electrical power.

Researchers estimate the railgun could accelerate projectiles to roughly 3.5km/s. That could give the weapon a theoretical range of about 280 miles.

Three steps to nuclear power

The development path starts with conventional propulsion. An initial tank would use a 1,500-horsepower diesel generator.

Its 10MJ electromagnetic gun could reach roughly 93 miles. Supercapacitors and flywheels would provide additional energy for high-demand systems.

The first design would also feature 2MJ electromagnetic armor. A second-generation vehicle would increase weapon energy to 20MJ.

Its projected range would rise to roughly 186 miles. That version would carry 10MJ electromagnetic armor and about five tonnes of advanced energy storage.

Researchers also envision solid-state batteries and superconducting storage. An onboard microgrid would coordinate the vehicle’s electrical systems.

The final stage would introduce nuclear propulsion after 2045. That would replace the diesel generator with a compact reactor.

Fitting the tiny reactor

The proposed reactor would use lead-bismuth cooling and produce 10MW of thermal power. Researchers want the reactor package to fit inside just two cubic meters.

Its radiation shielding would weigh no more than three tonnes. The reactor would also need a fuel replacement interval of at least five years.

Those targets create a difficult packaging problem. Engineers must fit the reactor, shielding and power-conversion equipment inside a combat vehicle.

Thermal management presents another hurdle. The reactor would produce substantial heat that engineers must remove from the vehicle.

The system would also need to survive punishing off-road conditions. The researchers say it should withstand shocks approaching 30g.

The railgun creates an even tougher electrical challenge. A 50MJ weapon must release enormous energy within an extremely short pulse.

The reactor could provide steady power, but it cannot instantly deliver the entire firing pulse. Energy storage would need to accumulate power between shots.

That makes the vehicle’s capacitors, batteries, and power electronics critical. Researchers say additional multiphysics simulations and vehicle-level testing remain necessary.

Feeding 50MJ railgun

A nuclear reactor could provide continuous electricity for energy-intensive weapons and sensors. Yet it would also consume space and weight needed for armor, ammunition and crew protection.

A military equipment expert told South China Morning Post that installing a fission reactor in a battle tank remains unrealistic. The expert also pointed to shielding and heat-dissipation requirements.

The expert questioned the practical value of effectively unlimited onboard electricity. Crews still need rest, while tanks still require ammunition and maintenance.

Survivability creates another concern. A destroyed crewed vehicle carrying a reactor could introduce risks beyond losing the platform.

The expert suggested an uncrewed alternative. Such a vehicle could use abundant electricity for lasers, microwave weapons, radar, and electronic warfare.

That approach could transform the concept from a conventional tank into an autonomous, high-power battlefield platform.

The nuclear tank remains a long-term research concept. Its central challenge may be delivering enormous electrical pulses inside a mobile combat vehicle.

The study is published in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Acta Armamentarii.