Jake Hecla

Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT

Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/99099307587

Abstract:

In 2018, Russia unveiled the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile system. Despite severe program setbacks, including a fatal criticality accident following an aborted flight test in 2019, the system appears to have been successfully flown under nuclear power in 2025. The Burevestnik is therefore the first nuclear aircraft to achieve powered flight, and represents a novel and unfamiliar military capability. In this presentation, I describe the results of an open-source effort to clarify the design, flight signatures and likely performance parameters of the Burevestnik nuclear propulsion system. Using Monte Carlo methods and analytical heat-transfer calculations, we show that meeting criteria for both criticality and heat transfer is possible within the fuselage diameter, though at the cost of a heavily constrained design space. Our aerodynamic and engine cycle modeling suggests that it uses a ~4MWth direct cycle nuclear turbojet, likely using a carbide ceramic fuel form. Notably, this work almost entirely excludes the possibility of nuclear ramjet propulsion. Neutron transport calculations show that air activation will generate tens of TBq of gaseous radionuclides per hour of flight, including highly detectable isotopes such as 41Ar, 85mKr, 83mKr and 14C. This opens the possibility for further powerplant characterization using CTBTO IMS data, as well as through other environmental sampling pathways. Though the present military significance of the weapon is minimal (as it is likely to be hazardous and impractical to deploy), the development of compact air-breathing nuclear propulsion systems presents opportunities for ultra-high-persistence flight. Such systems are likely to have near-future applications in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Bio:

Jake Hecla is a former Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow and an incoming assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a dual appointment in Aeronautics and Astronautics and in Nuclear Science and Engineering. His research interests include nuclear thermal propulsion, micro-reactors, and advanced radiation detection techniques. As a PhD candidate, he worked with the Rare Event Detection group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. There, he developed diagnostic tools for antineutrino detectors, and analysed antineutrino-based reactor monitoring schemes. Prior to this work, he developed algorithms for radiation mapping systems, and led a project to perform detailed mapping of the radiation environment in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Hecla holds a PhD and MS in nuclear engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a BS in nuclear science and engineering from MIT.