Pretty much everything I’ve ever seen that’s been “hardened against a nuclear explosion” on the ground is like 15 feet thick of steel, lead, and concrete. Yet Air Force One is supposed to be able to survive a nuclear blast (I’m guessing not literally right on top of, but nearby and radioactive).
Wouldn’t something thin-skinned like an airplane, by it’s very nature by unable to be shielded from a nuclear blast/radiation?
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That’s not what “hardened” means in this case. What you’re thinking of is actual structural hardening for buildings and other structures to withstand the nuclear blast itself.
Air Force One is not built to actually withstand the force of a nuclear explosion nor the radiation from one. What “hardened” in this case means is that the electronic equipment on the plane is shielded to protect it from the electromagnetic pulse that’s generated by a nuclear detonation. All nuclear explosions create electromagnetic pulses that can fry electronic devices for many miles beyond the range of the explosion itself. This doesn’t require much weight at all. Obviously how Air Force One is hardened is classified, but the basic methods of protecting electronics from electromagnetic pulses simply involve thin metal shielding and designing circuits in a more robust way.
That’s not what “hardened” means in this case. What you’re thinking of is actual structural hardening for buildings and other structures to withstand the nuclear blast itself.
Air Force One is not built to actually withstand the force of a nuclear explosion nor the radiation from one. What “hardened” in this case means is that the electronic equipment on the plane is shielded to protect it from the electromagnetic pulse that’s generated by a nuclear detonation. All nuclear explosions create electromagnetic pulses that can fry electronic devices for many miles beyond the range of the explosion itself. This doesn’t require much weight at all. Obviously how Air Force One is hardened is classified, but the basic methods of protecting electronics from electromagnetic pulses simply involve thin metal shielding and designing circuits in a more robust way.
I just want to add, since the question has pretty much been answered, that “Air Force One” isn’t a particular plane. That’s the call sign of any USAF aircraft that the president is on at the time. If he jumped in an F-16, that would then be Air Force One. In the same way the presidential helicopter is usually Marine One.
I just want to add, since the question has pretty much been answered, that “Air Force One” isn’t a particular plane. That’s the call sign of any USAF aircraft that the president is on at the time. If he jumped in an F-16, that would then be Air Force One. In the same way the presidential helicopter is usually Marine One.
I just want to add, since the question has pretty much been answered, that “Air Force One” isn’t a particular plane. That’s the call sign of any USAF aircraft that the president is on at the time. If he jumped in an F-16, that would then be Air Force One. In the same way the presidential helicopter is usually Marine One.
People have mention the EMP, and yea this is all Air Force One has, but also nuclear weapons are no where near as powerful as the media has led you to believe. For a weapon in the 200 kiloton range (about ten times Hiroshima) you don’t need anything near 15 feet of steel. 1000m of air + 6 inches of steel backed by a 1/2 layer or radiation shielding will do the job just fine. This is about what both the T64 and M60 tanks had and they were designed and tested against such weapons at ranges of 1000m, and found to provide the crew with adequate protection. Even then it’s the radiation not the explosion that is an issue. A 200 kiloton bomb is only going to produce over pressures in the 5-10 psi range even at a few hundred meters. That’s about 50% stronger than a cat 5 hurricane, so really bad for your house but absolutely 0 issue for a tank.
Ran a back of the napkin calculation with nukemap and a 200kt bomb produces 1psi of overpressure at 10km. A 747 can take 1psi easy. With radiation shielding and EMP shielding this mean that Air Force One could take a 200kt bomb going off 10km (6miles from it)
People have mention the EMP, and yea this is all Air Force One has, but also nuclear weapons are no where near as powerful as the media has led you to believe. For a weapon in the 200 kiloton range (about ten times Hiroshima) you don’t need anything near 15 feet of steel. 1000m of air + 6 inches of steel backed by a 1/2 layer or radiation shielding will do the job just fine. This is about what both the T64 and M60 tanks had and they were designed and tested against such weapons at ranges of 1000m, and found to provide the crew with adequate protection. Even then it’s the radiation not the explosion that is an issue. A 200 kiloton bomb is only going to produce over pressures in the 5-10 psi range even at a few hundred meters. That’s about 50% stronger than a cat 5 hurricane, so really bad for your house but absolutely 0 issue for a tank.
Ran a back of the napkin calculation with nukemap and a 200kt bomb produces 1psi of overpressure at 10km. A 747 can take 1psi easy. With radiation shielding and EMP shielding this mean that Air Force One could take a 200kt bomb going off 10km (6miles from it)
People have mention the EMP, and yea this is all Air Force One has, but also nuclear weapons are no where near as powerful as the media has led you to believe. For a weapon in the 200 kiloton range (about ten times Hiroshima) you don’t need anything near 15 feet of steel. 1000m of air + 6 inches of steel backed by a 1/2 layer or radiation shielding will do the job just fine. This is about what both the T64 and M60 tanks had and they were designed and tested against such weapons at ranges of 1000m, and found to provide the crew with adequate protection. Even then it’s the radiation not the explosion that is an issue. A 200 kiloton bomb is only going to produce over pressures in the 5-10 psi range even at a few hundred meters. That’s about 50% stronger than a cat 5 hurricane, so really bad for your house but absolutely 0 issue for a tank.
Ran a back of the napkin calculation with nukemap and a 200kt bomb produces 1psi of overpressure at 10km. A 747 can take 1psi easy. With radiation shielding and EMP shielding this mean that Air Force One could take a 200kt bomb going off 10km (6miles from it)
People have spoken about shielding electronics.
The other part is having redundant systems that are offline and fully protected so when the first set of critical electronics are destroyed by EMP, there is a second set of electronics that were protected that can be brought online.
People have spoken about shielding electronics.
The other part is having redundant systems that are offline and fully protected so when the first set of critical electronics are destroyed by EMP, there is a second set of electronics that were protected that can be brought online.
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