US Edition
Pentagon and DOE Fly Advanced Nuclear Reactor to Utah for Testing
Three pilot microreactors will reach criticality by July 4, 2026, supporting military power resilience and workforce training under a DOE and DoD partnership.
- On Sunday, February 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of War airlifted unfueled Valar Atomics Ward250 modules from March Air Reserve Base to Hill Air Force Base for testing at Utah San Rafael Energy Lab.
- Amid a regulatory push tied to President Donald Trump’s executive orders, agencies are speeding licensing to have at least three reactors producing energy by July 4, 2026.
- The six unfueled reactor modules supplied by Valar Atomics were airlifted with founder Isaiah Taylor and staff aboard multiple C-17s, featuring a five-megawatt microreactor powering 5,000 homes.
- Department officials said the reactor will move to Emery County and start generating power before July 4, 2026; Michael Duffey called it a "tremendous milestone" informing nuclear power capabilities.
- Despite proponents' praise, critics note microreactors lack a clear business case, high costs, and radioactive waste; Valar plans test sales in 2027 and full commercialization in 2028.
76 Articles
76 Articles
Evening Brief: Beware Deepfakes, US Boots in Nigeria, Pentagon Tests Air-Deployable Nuclear Micro-Reactor, Army Vet Robert Duvall Dies
From AI deepfakes targeting officials to quiet U.S. boots returning to West Africa and a nuclear micro-reactor riding a C-17 toward the future fight, the common thread is simple: trust, presence, and power are all being contested at once. Plus...We've lost Robert Duvall. #EveningBrief, #NationalSecurity, #DeepfakeThreat, #USMilitary, #WestAfrica, #NigeriaDeployment, #DefenseTech, #NuclearMicroreactor, #GreatPowerCompetition, #SOFREP #RobertDuval…
U.S. Airlifts First Microreactor In Nuclear Deployment Milestone
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief (Worthy News) – The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense have transported a small nuclear reactor by military cargo aircraft for the first time, marking a significant milestone in President Donald Trump’s push to expand advanced nuclear energy across the country. Three C-17 transport planes carried the unfueled Ward 250 microreactor, developed by California-based Valar Atomics, from Mar…
The U.S. Energy and Defence departments transported, on Sunday, for the first time, a small-scale nuclear reactor with a charge aircraft from California in Utah to demonstrate the potential for rapid use of nuclear energy for military and civil purposes, inform Reuters.
US military conducts first nuclear microreactor air transport
The Pentagon, along with the Department of Energy, on Sunday airlifted a small nuclear reactor, the first such transportation as the Trump administration looks to quickly deploy nuclear power across the U.S. The agencies moved the reactor in partnership with Valar Atomics, flying parts of one of the firm’s unfueled Ward 250 microreactors on a…
US Military Conducts First Airlift of Next-Gen Nuclear Reactor to Utah
The Pentagon said it airlifted a next-generation nuclear reactor from California to Utah on Feb. 15 to boost energy security and reduce the military’s reliance on the civilian power grid. The reactor was airlifted from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah aboard a C-17 Globemaster aircraft. It will later be transported to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for testing and evaluation, the Pentagon said in a statement. T…
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