The US Army has awarded contracts to five nuclear energy companies to build nuclear microreactors at military bases around the country.

The United States military continues to go “nuclear”—not with weapons, but with microreactors that can be employed to power remote bases and other facilities.

On Wednesday, the Department of the Army announced that it had selected five “nuclear energy vendors,” along with “five initial locations” where the reactors could be deployed under its ongoing Janus Program.

The announcement comes 10 months after the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) release of an “Area of Interest” (AOI) solicitation, which announced the nine bases that are in consideration as a site for microreactor power plants. The sites were selected following a comprehensive analysis and on-site assessment to identify optimal locations for initial deployment, the Army explained. It evaluated mission-critical installations, energy requirements and resiliency gaps, along with power infrastructure, environmental and technical considerations.

The US Army will award up to a combined $2.2 billion for the firms to “own, construct, and operate nuclear microreactors on military installations,” which will deliver safe and reliable power. Although five sites have been selected, the US Army acknowledged that it could eventually field more than 20 nuclear microreactors across Pentagon installations.

These Five Companies Are Building Microreactors for the US Army

The DIU announced on Wednesday that the five selected vendors and installations were:

• Antares Nuclear, Inc. – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
• BWXT Advanced Technologies, LLC – Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems – Fort Hood, Texas
• Radiant Industries, Inc. – Fort Benning, Georgia
• Westinghouse Government Services – Fort Drum, New York

“Since launching the Janus Program, our mandate from President Trump and Secretary Hegseth has been clear: secure the power our warfighters need to train, deploy, and win,” said Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in an Army media statement. “Awarding these contracts accelerates our ability to deliver safe, reliable baseload power directly to our installations. We are building the energy resilience necessary to project combat power globally, without relying on potentially vulnerable external grids.”

Nuclear safety has been a paramount concern, and the US Army confirmed that it received input from a decision board along with a panel of “top nuclear and technical experts” from the United States Department of Energy, other branches of the military, and from multiple national laboratories. Issues from technical risks to the financial costs to the management capabilities were carefully considered.

“When DOE created an authorization pathway for the demonstration of advanced reactor designs, we quickly began to realize how valuable these technologies could be for fortifying our national defense infrastructure,” said Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish. “We are honored to work in lockstep with the Army to leverage nuclear energy innovation in support of our country’s military operations at home and abroad.”

Army on Track to Meet September 2028 Target Deadline

The service has indicated it remains on track to meet the September 2028 target deadline that was called for in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14299, “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactors Technologies for National Security.” That executive order requested that federal agencies rapidly build small nuclear power plants for military bases and for artificial intelligence data centers, in order to make the United States military more secure and independent in its energy use.

The DIU first unveiled initial plans during the Biden administration, and issued a call for commercial nuclear microreactors under the foundational Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) effort in June 2024. It was officially branded the “Janus Program” and launched on October 14, 2025.

“We need more power. We need it delivered faster and cheaper, and we need it to be more reliable,” said Owen West, director at the Defense Innovation Unit. “With Janus, DIU is assisting the Army’s micro reactor build—speeding military energy production to protect the nation.”

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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