[chimera]

I frankly don't see the advantage of nuclear propulsion in an aircraft. Nuclear propulsion gives you the advantage of long time on-station and stealth in an underwater environment. That is great for subs where you can dive deep, take advantage of thermal layers, hide under the ice, and don't have radar painting you in the sky. Long time on-station for an aircraft has no particular advantage when your job is to get to a target, deliver your weapons, and get out again. Stooging around up in the sky just makes you more of a target. Combine that with the limited cargo capacity of the nuclear airplane (because of the shielding) and I don't think you have a very good bet. Missiles on land or at sea are a better deterrent.

[FreeAtlanta]

That is why the idea was abandoned. I am glad we tested out several options when we developed our nuclear deterrent. It was much better than just putting all the eggs in the same basket.

The best options won out in the end.