US Army picks 5 firms to build 20 nuclear microreactors at bases for $2.2 billion

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Five companies will build microreactors across five separate Army installations nationwide

Antares Nuclear takes on construction duties at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

The total contract value reaches up to $2.2 billion

The U.S. Army has selected 5 companies to construct small nuclear power units across a handful of domestic installations.

This initiative, called Project Janus, aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels while building toward energy independence at military sites.

Officials expect up to 20 microreactors could eventually operate across these bases, pending additional private investment from the participating firms.

Five contractors, five bases, and a $2 billion award

Antares Nuclear will build its unit at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, while BWXT Advanced Technologies will build its unit at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will handle Fort Hood in Texas, and Radiant Industries has been paired with Fort Benning in Georgia.

Westinghouse Government Services rounds out the group, assigned to Fort Drum in New York under the same milestone-based contract.

Combined, these five firms will share up to $2.2 billion through fixed-price milestone payments tied to construction progress.

“We now know that our domestic electric grid is potentially at risk in a conflict. We also know that we will not necessarily be able to move fossil fuels easily wherever we need them to go,” said Jeff Waksman, the Army’s principal deputy assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment.

“Right now, all critical infrastructure that the Army has is backed up by some form of liquid fossil fuel, primarily diesel. So that makes nuclear energy just a natural game changer for the Army.”

Nine bases had originally been finalists before November's announcement narrowed the list down to five selected locations.

Fort Wainwright in Alaska, Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama were among those excluded from the final round.

Uranium supply remains a persistent obstacle for the timeline

The United States currently lacks any operational nuclear microreactors and enriches only a small share of the global uranium supply.

Efforts by the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration to expand high-assay low-enriched uranium production remain in early stages.

Waksman acknowledged the scale of the challenge while expressing confidence that supply issues would not derail the timeline.

“We expect sufficient prioritization to ensure that we have the uranium that we need for our fastest moving reactors…probably going to push beyond what our supplies are as a nation.”

He added that coordination across federal agencies would be essential to securing enough material for later phases of the program.

Project Janus draws on lessons from Project Pele, the Pentagon's mobile reactor initiative, and borrows its contracting structure from a NASA cargo program.

The Army's approach also follows a separate Air Force effort already underway at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska.

Waksman indicated an announcement about coordination between the two service branches could arrive within the coming months.

Officials have emphasized choosing accessible domestic sites first, deliberately avoiding overseas or island locations for these early deployments.

Only once the technology proves reliable within the 50 states will military planners consider expanding microreactor construction beyond current borders.

Via Defense One