Army awards $2.2 billion in contracts for nuclear microreactors at five bases

The U.S. Army has awarded up to $2.2 billion in contracts to five companies—Antares Nuclear, BWX Technologies, General Atomics, Radiant Industries, and Westinghouse—to build and operate nuclear microreactors at five domestic bases. Dubbed Project Janus, the initiative aims to secure energy independence from vulnerable commercial grids. The contractors will own and run the reactors, which must be operational by September 2028. However, the program faces domestic enriched uranium supply shortages.

Project Janus microreactor contracts

• ▪The five selected companies are Antares Nuclear, BWX Technologies, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Radiant Industries, and Westinghouse Government Services.
• ▪Radiant Industries announced it secured an agreement for up to $750 million under the U.S. Army's microreactor program.
• ▪The U.S. Army's microreactor initiative, named Project Janus, was launched in 2025 in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit.
• ▪The U.S. Army announced plans to award up to $2.2 billion over five years to five companies to build nuclear microreactors at five military bases.

Military energy resilience goals

• ▪The U.S. Army currently relies on diesel fuel as its primary backup power source for critical infrastructure at military installations.
• ▪President Donald Trump signed executive orders in May 2025 tasking the U.S. Army with operating an advanced reactor at a domestic base by September 30, 2028.
• ▪The U.S. Army plans to use nuclear microreactors to provide a resilient, independent power source for critical infrastructure in case the commercial electric grid fails.

Base vendor selection process

• ▪U.S. Army officials selected the final bases based on security, mission set, power projection capabilities, and a low likelihood of seismic activity.
• ▪The U.S. Army excluded Fort Wainwright, Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and Redstone Arsenal from the final five microreactor sites.
• ▪The five bases selected for the microreactors are Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, Fort Benning, and Fort Drum.

Contractor ownership operations model

• ▪The Project Janus contracts fund the construction of each nuclear microreactor and cover their first year of operations.
• ▪Private contractors will own and operate the microreactors, while the U.S. Army will provide technical knowledge and support to the workforce.
• ▪The U.S. Army expects that more than 20 nuclear microreactors will eventually be built and operated across the selected bases.

Uranium supply chain challenges

• ▪The United States relies heavily on imported enriched uranium and currently enriches only a small percentage of the global uranium supply.
• ▪The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration are working to expand domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium.
• ▪The United States currently has zero operational nuclear microreactors supplying power to its commercial electric grid.

Army regulatory licensing framework

• ▪The U.S. Army is establishing an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to remove radioactive waste from the bases within two years of operation.
• ▪The nuclear microreactors will be licensed directly by the U.S. Army rather than the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• ▪The U.S. Army is aligning its licensing processes with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission so companies can transition to commercial licensing without major design changes.

3 sources