<Snipped quote by Willy Vereb>
Wut. You know that we aren't that far into the future.
2050
We already roughly have the means for this to happen.
We only need time and the actual effort.
<Snipped quote by Willy Vereb>
No, they haven't come into existence, yet, I was going to use this as a possible point in the Cold War, a new Space race.
Yeah, that sounds reasonable to me.
On a different note with the hi-capacity batteries I think electronic propulsions could gradually become popular.
Let's say the 7th generation of fighters would actually rely on these instead of typical jets. And even the 6th generation may use electromagnetic fields instead of propellers to compress the gases. This would make the jet less prone to mechanical failures and may even become overall cheaper to maintain.
Also I plan to have drones using magnetic propulsion which could be a reality even now if not for the lack of hi-capacity batteries and other power sources. Magnetohydrodynamic engines are already working and about as good as typical screw-operated craft. The only reason they're slower because generators add extra weight and in general we have some ways until we get decent electric power...which isn't a big issue by 2050 of this setting.
I again remind you of the railgun tanks and CNT-baed fuel cells which makes energy-reliant technology more portable.
Again, energy is not free. Energy is not universally better than combustion/mechanical methods. The point is they are an alternative which if used right can be advantageous.
For example I plan to have "Kuvik" drones that are small (~2-3m diameter) flying saucers using magnetic propulsion and run on CNT-supercapacitors to be active for 1-2 hours at best.
<Snipped quote by MetalLover>
Did somebody say Space Race? I'm up for a Space Race. Let's have a Space Race. That sounds like a good idea. I'm not biased at all, why do you ask?
Oh yeah, space race will be pretty fun.