Reading the Readiness Levels
We map Aegis onto the standard nine-level technology readiness scale so the design stage is not overstated.
The nine-level scale
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) run from 1 (basic principles observed) to 9 (system proven in operation). They are a common yardstick precisely because they resist optimism: a working model is not a working machine.
Where Aegis sits by subsystem
- Underlying D–³He physics: high, well established
- Direct energy conversion concept: mid, bench heritage exists
- Plug magnet at 26.49 T design bore: low, stress-infeasible as drawn
- Integrated tandem-mirror at the design regime: low, not yet operated
- Full plant availability: low, no operating data
Why the band is wide
Aegis spans a wide TRL band because its physics inputs are mature while its integrated hardware is not. The program's job over 2027–2036 is to lift the low subsystems — magnets, confinement regime, fuel supply, availability — without overstating the whole. The test burner around 2032 is a step, not a finish line; commercial readiness around 2036 requires the whole system, not just the physics.
The wide band is the honest signal here. A machine whose physics inputs are mature but whose integrated hardware is immature will always show a spread, and hiding that spread behind a single optimistic level is how programs mislead. Every subsystem in the low part of the band — magnets, confinement regime, fuel supply, availability — has a named experiment attached to it in this section.
Related: readiness scorecard.