Army Commits Up to $2.2 Billion Under Janus Program to Deploy 20+ Microreactors at Five Bases

The Army said Aug. 26 that it will provide up to a combined $2.2 billion to five companies under its Janus Program to build and operate more than 20 nuclear microreactors at domestic Army installations, a major step toward putting resilient on-base power generation at military sites.

The funding, spread across fiscal 2027 through 2031, is a program ceiling rather than a fully disclosed lump-sum payout. Army officials said private-sector investment is also expected alongside government dollars as the service tries to move beyond one-off demonstrations and toward repeated deployment on bases.

The push is aimed at energy resilience: keeping critical military missions running even if the civilian electric grid is disrupted. The Army has framed the reactors as a way to provide reliable baseload power for installations and support future energy-intensive systems. “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. Awarding these contracts accelerates our ability to deliver safe, reliable baseload power directly to our installations,” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said in the service’s announcement.

The Army selected five vendors for the initial tranche, each paired with one installation: Antares Nuclear Inc. at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at Fort Hood, Texas; Radiant Industries Inc. at Fort Benning, Georgia; and Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum, New York.

The agreements are milestone-based and use an Other Transaction Authority-style structure, meaning government payments are tied to vendors meeting technical milestones. The reactors will be contractor-owned and contractor-operated, according to Army materials.

The Army described the planned systems as advanced nuclear microreactors generating less than 20 megawatts of electricity each and taking up less than five acres per site. Its goal is to have at least one microreactor capable of producing usable electricity on an Army installation by Sept. 30, 2028.

Some companies have outlined their own timelines and designs. BWXT said its Fort Campbell system will be a 20-megawatt version of its BANR design and is targeting groundbreaking in late 2028, with operations in the early 2030s. General Atomics said its Fort Hood reactor, called GA-TES, has a baseline output of about 5 megawatts and can scale to about 20 megawatts.

Army officials said the systems will include passive safety features, including automatic safe shutdowns. The Army also said spent fuel will not be stored permanently on post. After a federally required cooldown period, the fuel would be transported to Department of Energy or national laboratory facilities.

Janus is the Army’s next-generation nuclear power program and was launched in October 2025. Army materials tie it to Executive Order 14299, published in the Federal Register in May 2025, which called for faster deployment of advanced reactors for national-security uses and set the Sept. 30, 2028, target.

The program builds on earlier Defense Department and Energy Department efforts, including Project Pele and the DOE Reactor Pilot Program, but with a broader ambition. “The Janus Program is grabbing the baton from Project Pele and the [Department of Energy’s] Reactor Pilot Program. We are seeking not just reactors capable of turning on for a brief demonstration, but rather systems able to deliver power with high-capacity factors for years of operation,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, the Army’s principal deputy assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment.

The Army did not publish a full vendor-by-vendor funding breakdown. One company, Radiant, separately said its Janus agreement is worth up to $750 million and covers 15 Kaleidos microreactors, a figure that underscores both the scale of the program and how much of the total spending profile remains undisclosed.