US Air Force Makes Plans to “Grow” Runway Using Bacteria

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Aircraft carriers play an important role in supporting the United States aerial superiority. Being able to grant aircraft the accessibility to take off and land anywhere from sea is a major benefit for any military operating near coastal areas. As useful as aircraft carriers are, they are limited. Not every plane can take off and land on the limited runway space, not to mention the fact that carriers cannot operate on land.

Being able to “pop up” a makeshift runway would be a major advantage to any air force, granting that air force the ability to safely deploy and refuel aircraft deep behind enemy lines.

The United States Air Force is attempting to do just that. As part of Project Medusa, the U.S. Air Force is making efforts to “grow” aircraft runways out of bacteria.

Similar to the mythological creature Medusa, that turns people into stone, the project aims to take simple materials such as dirt and bacteria, and turn it into a hard sturdy surface.

Blue Horizons, a think tank within the U.S. Air Force, researched the feasibility of creating hardened objects out of biomatter. Blue Horizons is working with a biomanufacturing company to further the project.

The biomanufacturing company, known as BioMASON, has managed to develop a technique that turns sand and soil into hard, sturdy surfaces. The technique involves pouring sand into molds and adding certain bacteria. Water enriched with nutrients is then poured into the molds in order to feed the bacteria and help it grow. The bacteria then creates calcium carbonate crystals that bind the sand together, making a reliable and durable brick.

The concept has gone through a few tests. Aside from the small scaled, laboratory tests to test the concept, researchers have managed to construct a 2,500 square foot prototype. The prototype proves the military feasibility of the concept, however there is no word regarding how long it would take to build a fully sized runway.

The concept is not limited only to runways. The bacteria could work as a makeshift alternative to concrete and other heavy building material that costs a lot of money to transport and use. Af.mil mentions that the biomanufacturing process can replace the need for cement, heavy equipment, and dozens of construction workers.