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I'm pretty sure the Russians know how to put guns on their floating nuclear fortresses.

• 97s 15y ago
  This is so true. I cracked up for minutes laughing about this comment. I wonder what their plans are to protect them from piracy, they should really talk more about that in the article.
• afterburner 15y ago
  Nuclear fortress? They're talking about using these floating reactors for civilian use. That's very different than putting one in a military naval ship.
  • deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  • bradleyland 15y ago
    Are people really concerned about this? The entire notion of pirates taking off with a nuclear barge is absurd. First, moving a 472 ft barge through the water is not something that occurs quickly. Even if pirates were able to gain control of such a reactor, a military response would be so swift and overpowering that they'd be lucky to make it a few miles (at an optimistic 12 knots) before intercept and certain doom. Next, you can bet that these nuclear barges would be some of the most watched maritime objects in the world. We wouldn't need to worry about the Russian's watching and securing them, because US spy satellites and a desk of 5 "analysts" will be providing briefs on the status of these reactors to national security advisors daily. Finally, every first-rate military in the world has dedicated billions of dollars to the problem of naval attack weapons. A pirate effort has about zero chance of making it within several hundred miles of shore. A nation whose borders are facing a nuclear threat wouldn't even need to waste an anti-ship missile. A Super Hornet cruises at around 600 MPH. Even just a strafing run with 20mm cannon fire would obliterate any pirate tow vessel. The notion of a nuclear barge as a high-value terrorist target is absolutely absurd.