US research advances on alternative to bomb-grade uranium in Navy vessels -documents

U.S. research is advancing on the potential to change fuel for nuclear reactors on Navy submarines and aircraft carriers from bomb-grade uranium to a safer option, documents showed Wednesday, even as the program's funding is at risk in Congress. The U.S. research program progressed from a planning phase into an "iterative experimental campaign phase" in fiscal year 2021 and early findings represent progress in what could be a 20-to 25- year design effort, said a report to Congress last year from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The issue of highly-enriched fuel in naval vessels is heightened by the $245 billion AUKUS defense technology partnership with Australia and Britain that provides for the sale of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and sharing of nuclear-propulsion technology with Australia in response to China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific.