Overview
- The Army announced Thursday that it has awarded up to $2.2 billion in contracts to five companies to build and operate small modular or microreactors at five U.S. bases.
- Each vendor was paired with a test site — Antares at Fort Bragg, BWXT at Fort Campbell, General Atomics at Fort Hood, Radiant at Fort Benning, and Westinghouse at Fort Drum — to run parallel design and build efforts.
- Army officials said the program seeks more than 20 microreactors at Department of Defense sites by 2028 and will use a mission-tailored military certification process while coordinating with the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Key hurdles remain because no SMRs operate commercially in the U.S. and only NuScale’s design has NRC approval, so licensing, cost, manufacturing scale, and safety reviews will determine whether military prototypes can clear civilian approval.
- The move follows White House action tightening grid protections and could change where bases get emergency power by reducing reliance on diesel deliveries, with possible later civilian sales if designs win regulatory clearance.