NIF isn't supposed to achieve net power generation. It's a defense research facility which is intended to test nuclear weapons technology without violating weapons testing bans.
That is not quite correct. Yes, its primary purpose is “stockpile management,” but it’s not exclusively that. It was ALSO sold as a facility to study fusion power generation, hence this announcement.
LIFE was a proposed follow-on project to NIF that would be focused on power generation demonstration (high repetition rates, etc). It never went anywhere and work on it effectively stopped around 2013 or so.
“Ignition” isn’t about generating electricity. It’s about making fusion bombs which don’t emit neutrons or other radiation (from a fission trigger) while the device is in storage.
So, not primarily a power generation design like a tokamak would be.
