Reuters is reporting that defense contractor Lockheed Martin claims it has made a technological breakthrough that places us on the doorstep of affordable fusion energy. Supposedly, the breakthrough will result in compact fusion reactors before a decade is out.

But the Lockheed Martin press release that coincides with the coverage says little of the sort. There, the company simply states that after initial work in the area, it expects to be able to build a prototype in five years. If everything goes well, the design could "be developed and deployed in as little as ten years." The "if" in the last sentence, however, is a big one.

The hype also seems to have been designed to leverage a technical article in Aviation Week that goes into some of the details about how Lockheed Martin is structuring its design. The general concept is similar to a Tokamak, in that it involves magnetic confinement of a plasma rather than hitting a small target with massive amounts of laser power. But the shape of the container is different and, according to the company's researchers, more efficient. However, the Aviation Week report also notes, "The team acknowledges that the project is in its earliest stages, and many key challenges remain before a viable prototype can be built."

So why the sudden publicity offensive? Presumably because Lockheed Martin also announced that it's looking for commercial partners to help fund the intervening years of research that will be required. By making the developments sound inevitable, the company increases its chances of attracting someone to share the risk.