World’s Fastest Supercomputer ‘El Capitan’ Goes Online to Strengthen U.S. National Security
Summary
El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer, has been launched at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. With a peak performance of *2.746 exaflops*, it is the third exascale computer ever built. Costing **$600 million**, it was commissioned to secure the U.S. nuclear stockpile in the absence of underground testing (banned since 1992). The system also supports national security research, including material discovery and nuclear data analysis. Powered by *44,544 AMD MI300A units*, El Capitan is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s CORAL-2 program, replacing the Sierra supercomputer.
The world’s fastest supercomputer, *El Capitan*, has been launched at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. With a peak performance of *2.746 exaflops , it is the third computer to achieve exascale computing speeds.
Key Highlights:
– Purpose: El Capitan will handle sensitive tasks, including securing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, replacing underground testing banned in 1992.
– Cost and Development: Built at a cost of $600 million, construction began in May 2023, and the supercomputer became operational in November 2024, officially dedicated on January 9, 2025.
– Performance: Achieved 1.742 exaflops on the High-Performance Linpack (HPL) benchmark and surpassed other supercomputers like Frontier at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has a peak performance of 2.056 exaflops.
El Capitan comprises 44,544 AMD MI300A processing units , combining CPUs, GPUs, and high-bandwidth memory to deliver exceptional computational power while optimizing energy efficiency. It was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy’s CORAL-2 program as a replacement for the Sierra supercomputer (ranked 14th globally).
The machine will also focus on material discovery, high-energy-density physics, nuclear data analysis, weapon design, and other classified research tasks crucial for national security.
Disclaimer
This information is based on publicly available sources and research. Details may change as further updates are announced. Readers are advised to consult official sources for accuracy.
source : livescience,com