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1h ago

Army Selects Five Firms for $2.2 Billion Microreactor Program on Bases

Milestone-based contracts will fund contractor‑owned, Army‑licensed microreactors to strengthen on‑base power resilience and pursue an operational unit by Sept. 30, 2028.

FILE - A sign at Fort Bragg, N.C., is seen, Jan. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
Nate Jandra, a lead technician at Antares, welds a component for the company’s power conversion system in Torrance, California, on Aug. 25, 2026. The Army selected Antares to deploy its R1 microreactors at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, under the Janus Program. Courtesy: Antares
FILE - U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll speaks at the America 250 celebration at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker, File)
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Overview

  • The Army announced on Wednesday, August 26 that it picked Antares, BWXT, General Atomics, Radiant and Westinghouse and gave them access to up to $2.2 billion in Other Transaction Authority awards tied to fixed technical milestones.
  • Each award pairs a vendor with a specific installation — Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, Fort Hood, Fort Benning and Fort Drum — and the reactors will remain contractor‑owned and contractor‑operated with bases still connected to local grids.
  • Program goals call for more than 20 microreactors across Department of Defense sites and for at least one advanced reactor to be operating at a domestic installation by Sept. 30, 2028, subject to vendors meeting milestone tests.
  • Key constraints that could slow deployment include limited domestic HALEU fuel production and an unfinished Department of Energy arrangement to remove radioactive waste, and the Army is working to resolve both issues.
  • Janus builds on earlier Pentagon work such as Project Pele and is meant to move microreactor designs from demonstrations into commercially viable systems that reduce reliance on diesel backups and attract private investment.