US Army selects five firms for $2.2 billion Project Janus microreactor program

The combined contracts could be worth up to $2.2 billion, paid through fixed-price milestone payments tied to construction progress. Antares Nuclear will build at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, BWXT Advanced Technologies at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at Fort Hood in Texas, Radiant Industries at Fort Benning in Georgia, and Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum in New York.

The Army said the project aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve energy independence at military sites. Officials expect up to 20 microreactors could eventually operate across the five bases, pending additional private investment from the participating firms.

“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 the list was narrowed to five. 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.

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 said, adding 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.