[TWZ] Army installations within the lower 48 states will have operating nuclear microreactors starting in the fall of 2028 if the Army’s Janus program moves forward on schedule. The addition of nuclear power will diversify the energy sources available on military bases and provide a critical enhancement to their resiliency, the Army says.
“What resilience means to us is that we have power, no matter what, 24/7,” Dr. Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said during a media roundtable attended by TWZ at last week’s Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual conference.
Waksman’s comments followed a briefing earlier in the day at which Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Christopher Wright jointly announced the launch of the Janus Program.
“The U.S. Army is leading the way on fielding innovative and disruptive technology,” Driscoll said. “We are shredding red tape and incubating next-generation capabilities in a variety of critical sectors, including nuclear power.”
Janus is the Army’s plan to realize President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14299, titled “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security,” which directs the Department of War to commence operation of an Army-regulated nuclear reactor at a domestic military installation no later than September 30, 2028. |