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  • Research reveals China has built prototype nuclear reactor to power aircraft carrier

    Research reveals China has built prototype nuclear reactor to power aircraft carrier

    Bangkok — China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing the country’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press.

    There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California is the first to confirm it is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship.

    China’s navy is already the world’s largest numerically, and it has been rapidly modernizing. Adding nuclear-powered carriers to its fleet would be a major step in realizing its ambitions for a true “blue-water” force capable of operating around the globe in a growing challenge to the United States.

    Nuclear carriers take longer to build than conventional carriers, but once in operation they are able to stay at sea for much longer because they do not need to refuel, and there is more room on board for fuel and weapons for aircraft, thus extending their capabilities. They are also able to produce more power to run advanced systems.

    Right now, only the United States and France have nuclear-powered carriers. The U.S. has 11 in total, which allows it to keep multiple strike groups deployed around the world at all times, including in the Indo-Pacific.

    But the Pentagon is growingly increasingly concerned about China’s rapid modernization of its fleet, including the design and construction of new carriers.

    China currently has three carriers, including the new Type 003 Fujian, which was the first both designed and built by China. It has said work is already underway on a fourth, but it has not announced whether that will be nuclear or conventionally powered.

    The modernization aligns with China’s “growing emphasis on the maritime domain and increasing demands” for its navy “to operate at greater distances from mainland China,” the Defense Department said in its most recent report to Congress on China’s military.

    Middlebury researchers were initially investigating a mountain site outside the city of Leshan in the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan over suspicions that China was building a reactor to produce plutonium or tritium for weapons. Instead they said they determined that China was building a prototype reactor for a large warship.

    The conclusion was based upon a wide variety of sources, including satellite images, project tenders, personnel files, and environmental impact studies.

    The reactor is housed in a new facility built at the site known as Base 909, which is under the control of the Nuclear Power Institute of China.

    Documents indicating that China’s 701 Institute, which is responsible for aircraft carrier development, procured reactor equipment “intended for installation on a large surface warship.” as well as the project’s “national defense designation” helped lead to the conclusion the sizeable reactor is a prototype for a next-generation aircraft carrier.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has tasked defense officials with building a “first-class” navy and becoming a maritime power as part of his blueprint for the country’s great rejuvenation.

    The country’s most recent white paper on national defense, dated 2019, said the Chinese navy was adjusting to strategic requirements by “speeding up the transition of its tasks from defense on the near seas to protection missions on the far seas.”

    Sea trials hadn’t even started for the new Fujian aircraft carrier in March when Yuan Huazhi, political commissar for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, confirmed the construction of a fourth carrier. Asked if it would be nuclear-powered, he said at the time that would “soon be announced,” but so far it has not been.

    Neither China’s Defense Ministry nor Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to requests for comment.

    Even if the carrier that has been started will likely be another conventionally-powered Type 003 ship, experts say Chinese shipyards have the capability to work on more than one carrier at a time, and that they could produce a new nuclear-powered vessel concurrently.

    ___

    Tang reported from Washington D.C.

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  • Meta unveils cheaper VR headset, AI updates and shows off prototype for holographic AR glasses

    Meta unveils cheaper VR headset, AI updates and shows off prototype for holographic AR glasses

    MENLO PARK, California — Meta unveiled updates to the company’s virtual reality headset and Ray Ban smart glasses on Wednesday along with AI advances as it tries demonstrate its artificial intelligence prowess and the next generation of computing platforms beyond smartphones and computers.

    CEO Mark Zuckerberg also showed off Orion, a prototype he called “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.”

    “The technical challenges to make them are insane,” he told a crowd of developers and journalists at Meta’s Menlo Park, California headquarters. These holographic augmented reality glasses, for one, needed to be glasses — not a bulky headset. There are no wires and it has to weigh less than 100 grams (3.53 ounces), among other things. And the beyond interacting with your voice, typing or hand gestures, Orion has a “neural interface” — it lets you send a signal from your brain to the device.

    There is no release date for Orion — Zuckerberg called it a “glimpse of the future.”

    Seemingly in his element speaking to a cheering and clapping crowd, Zuckerberg said Meta is working to “bring the future to everyone” with its headsets, glasses and AI system. As part of an update to its Llama model, people will now be able to interact with Meta AI by speaking, with voices from celebrities such as John Cena, Judi Dench and Awkwafina.

    Meta AI now has 500 million users, the company said. Jeremy Goldman of the research firm Emarketer called the number “jaw-dropping.”

    “Meta has transformed from just a social media company into an AI powerhouse. Zuckerberg’s move to celebrity voices is not just for fun — it’s a direct challenge to OpenAI, with an emphasis on real-world utility,” Goldman said.

    Meta, which introduced the Quest 3 last year, also showed off a cheaper version of the VR googles — the 3S — that will cost $299. The regular Quest 3 costs $499. The S3 will start shipping on Oct. 15.

    “Meta is aggressively undercutting Apple’s Vision Pro to dominate the middle-tier AR/VR market,” Goldman said. Those VR googles, which came out earlier this year after much anticipation, cost $3,500.

    While VR goggles have grabbed more headlines, the augmented reality Ray Bans turned out to be a sleeper hit for Meta. The company hasn’t disclosed sales numbers, but Zuckerberg said during Meta’s July earnings call that the glasses “continue to be a bigger hit sooner than we expected — thanks in part to AI.” Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that Meta seems to have gotten past the supply issues that plagued the Ray Bans a few months ago due to high demand.

    “They are kind of the perfect form factor for AI,” Zuckerberg said. The glasses, he added, let an AI assistant “see what you see, hear what you hear” and help you go about your day.

    For instance, you can ask the glasses to remind you where you parked or to pick up groceries, look at a pile of fruit and come up with a smoothie recipe, or help you pick out a party outfit.

    Meta — which renamed itself from Facebook in 2021, still makes nearly all of its money from advertising. In its most recent quarter, 98% of its more than $39 billion in revenue came from ads. At the same time, the company is investing heavily in AI and what Zuckerberg sees as the next generation of computing platforms such as VR headsets and AR glasses.

    “VR headsets, despite Meta’s assertion, will not go mainstream,” said Forrester research director Mike Proulx. “They’re too cumbersome, and people can only tolerate them in short bursts.”

    Glasses, on the other hand “put computing power directly into a common and familiar form factor. As the smart tech behind these glasses matures, they have the potential to disrupt everyday consumers’ interactions with brands.”

    Proulx said the Orion prototype “sets the stage for a future where a revolutionary 3D computing platform is within reach and can actually be useful to the everyday consumer.”

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