The Cold War Doomsday Weapon the US almost built.

[DetlefK]

https://jalopnik.com/the-flying-crowbar-the-insane-doomsday-weapon-america-1435286216

It's a cruise-missile...

With a nuclear-powered ramjet, so it can stay in the air almost indefinitely.

All the while spewing radioactive waste out of the exhaust.

Flying at treetop-level at supersonic speeds, while being so loud, the shockwave alone kills you.

Oh, and it also carries 16 hydrogen-bombs it can drop off one by one.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I'm trying to get my head around how a nuclear-powered ramjet would work...

[DetlefK]

2. It's in the article:

Radioactive material is warm/hot due to the radioactive decay.

Air goes in, gets heated by the radioactive-material's warmth, wants to expand, builds up pressure, and you release that pressure through the nozzle.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

3. Would have to be boosted conventionally

Like all other ramjets. The reactor basically takes the place of the igniter and fuel source in a conventional ramjet. Instead of burning fuel to heat the air, the heat off the reactor is used to heat up the air to produce the thrust.

[TomVilmer]

4. The Russian version - tested in 2018

"Putin unveils six super weapons during fiery address. Most surprising was a nuclear powered cruise missile concept that would have nearly unlimited range."

Link to tweet

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/18948/u-s-has-been-secretly-watching-russias-nuclear-powered-cruise-missiles-crash-and-burn
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23058/russia-is-hunting-for-its-crashed-nuclear-powered-cruise-missile-and-the-u-s-might-be-too

[kairos12]

5. Endorsed by General Jack D. Ripper.