The US Army has selected five companies to build nuclear microreactors at military installations across the country, in agreements worth up to $2.2 billion combined. The service announced the awards Wednesday alongside the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit.
Antares Nuclear will develop microreactor capacity at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. BWXT Advanced Technologies takes Fort Campbell, Kentucky. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. Radiant Industries will work at Fort Benning, Georgia. Westinghouse Government Services takes Fort Drum, New York. The Army expects to field more than 20 microreactors across Department of Defense installations.
The awards advance the Army's Janus program, launched in 2025 to power installations independently of civilian grids after an executive order directed the military to accelerate nuclear integration. The stated goal is an operating reactor at a military base by September 30, 2028.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said the contracts speed the delivery of reliable baseload power to installations and build the energy resilience needed to project combat power without depending on external grids.
Reactors will be contractor owned and operated, and vendors are paid only when they meet technical milestones. Officials said at a Wednesday media briefing that each installation stays connected to the commercial grid, and the reactors are sized to supplement rather than fully power a base.
Jeff Waksman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, said none of the reactors will use highly enriched uranium. He tied the program to concerns about fuel logistics, noting that Army critical infrastructure is currently backed up almost entirely by diesel and that Pacific island operations often depend on foreign-flagged fuel shipments.
Brandon Cockrell, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for energy and sustainability, said installations were chosen through an analysis covering mission set, power grid feasibility, environmental factors, and safety, with power projection a clear thread across the five selections.
Source: Military Times - https://www.militarytimes.com/industry/techwatch/2026/08/26/us-army-taps-5-firms-to-build-on-base-microreactors-in-nuclear-energy-push/