Army launches nuclear program to power bases across globe

Army It is launching a sweeping new nuclear program to produce energy for bases around the world, especially those in remote or contested areas where fuel may be difficult to obtain, Fox News Digital has learned.

Army official Dr. who is leading efforts to install next-generation commercial microreactors at military sites. According to Jeff Waksman, “hundreds of millions” of dollars will be poured into the program known as Project Janus over the next five years.

“Great power conflict is defined by who can move their resources,” Waksman said. Energy demand is expected to increase as modern warfare trends towards unmanned aerial vehicles, directed energy weapons and artificial intelligence. And as war planners prepare for a potential war front in the Indo-Pacific Chinese“Our ability to move energy around oceans has never been more challenged,” he said.

Waksman said, “It is a huge challenge in terms of providing energy 24/7. Military bases currently run entirely on fossil fuels. Providing energy 24/7 with solar, wind and batteries is not possible with current technology.” he said. “Therefore, the only solution to the current fuel tyranny is nuclear energy.”

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The new plan follows the executive order that President Donald Trump signed earlier this year, directing the War Department to begin operating an Army-supervised nuclear reactor at a U.S. military facility by September 2028.

The initiative, known as the Janus Program, will be led by the Department of the Army, which is designated as the mission’s executive agent. Waksman described Janus as “a real hardware program” aimed at providing tangible energy capacity rather than a policy concept. “There have been many nuclear projects in the past that came to a head with a press release,” he said. “This is nothing like that.”

Under Janus, the Army will work in partnership with the Defense Innovation Agency and the Department of Energy’s national laboratories to oversee the design and testing of commercial microreactors. The reactors will be built and operated commercially rather than being owned by the military. To encourage private investment, the Army will use a milestone-based contracting model inspired by NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program; It’s the same framework that helped launch the commercial space industry by funding companies like SpaceX and Boeing to reach key technical milestones rather than paying for traditional government procurement.

The military hopes this flexible model will speed development, lower costs and foster a self-sustaining market for small reactors that could eventually power both military and civilian infrastructure.

The first hardware, which Waksman calls “lightspeed” for the nuclear program, is not expected to be built before 2027. Initial studies will focus mainly on materials science and supply chains, which he said are still major bottlenecks.

“You need certified suppliers to provide components that can survive under nuclear reactor conditions, and that is not enough,” he said. “One of our goals is to help consolidate and strengthen the industrial base so that multiple companies can use the same qualified suppliers.”

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Nuclear microreactors will begin powering domestic military bases in 2028. (Reuters)

The military plans to work with multiple suppliers, each expected to build at least two reactors; the first will serve as a prototype and the second will be improved with lessons learned.

Beyond powering local facilities, officials say Janus will also help solve one of the most pressing logistical challenges in a potential conflict with China: transporting energy across vast ocean distances. Waksman cited Guam as an example; an island where more than 90 percent of electricity comes from imported oil carried by foreign-flagged tankers traveling thousands of miles along disputed sea lanes.

“Having something that can power for years without any resupply would be a complete game changer,” he said.

For now, the reactors will remain in the United States, but Waksman said the technology was developed with future expeditionary use and commercial byproducts in mind.

“The military does not want to be the sole buyer of these reactors,” he said. “If we can get the industry to the sixth or seventh unit where they can sell to commercial partners, then we have succeeded.”

The military’s power needs are only expected to increase in the era of drones, artificial intelligence, and directed energy warfare. (Samuel Çorum/Getty Images)

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Nuclear microreactors are smaller, factory-built power systems that use the same basic principles as conventional nuclear power plants, but are much smaller in size. Most produce between 1 and 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a small town or military installation, and can operate for years without refueling.

Unlike large commercial reactors that can take a decade to build, microreactors are designed for rapid installation. They can be transported by truck or plane and installed on site within a few weeks; They provide stable, carbon-free power in locations where fuel delivery is difficult or hazardous.