[lambdatronics]

There are two different definitions of breakeven, and science journalism is usually not good at making those distinct (and yeah, often the press releases from the institutions don't help). "Scientific" breakeven is the first milestone we'll hit, and that's what NIF is claiming to be close to. You're referring to what's known as "engineering" breakeven, which is harder to achieve and requires yet higher fusion yields. Unless you hear otherwise, assume that anyone talking about breakeven means "scientific" breakeven -- if they'd achieved "engineering" breakeven, they'd make sure to spell that out!