WASHINGTON — U.S. officials Friday announced plans to spend $325 million on two new supercomputers, one of which may eventually be built to support speeds of up to 300 petaflops, faster than any supercomputer running today.

The U.S. Department of Energy, the major funder of supercomputers used for scientific research, wants to have the two systems – each with a base speed of 150 petaflops – possibly running by 2017. Going beyond the base speed to reach 300 petaflops will take additional government approvals.

If the world stands still, the U.S. may conceivably regain the lead in supercomputing speed from China with these new systems. But how adequate this planned investment will look three years from now is a question.

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