The Pentagon and the Energy Department said they demonstrated an ability to move small nuclear power equipment by airlift, sending a reactor in a C-17 military aircraft from California to Utah as part of President Donald Trump’s push to expand nuclear power. Officials said the nearly 700-mile flight, which took place Feb. 15, carried a nearly 700-mile microreactor demonstration unit without nuclear fuel as they work toward faster deployment of microreactors for military and civilian needs.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey traveled with the privately built reactor to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, where Wright described the trip as a milestone in what the administration calls rapid nuclear development. Wright said, “Today is history. A multi-megawatt, next-generation nuclear power plant is loaded in the C-17 behind us.” He said the flight departed March Air Reserve Base in California and took about two hours.
Wright said the reactor transported by the military is part of a broader timeline for microreactors, including his expectation that at least three will reach “criticality” — when a nuclear reaction can sustain an ongoing series of reactions — by July 4, aligning with Trump’s promise for swift action on nuclear energy. Wright also framed the demonstration as the start of an accelerated nuclear rollout, saying, “That’s speed, that’s innovation, that’s the start of a nuclear renaissance.”
Duffey said microreactors are designed to be portable and to “accelerate the delivery of resilient power to where it’s needed,” describing the longer-term goal of energy security for military bases without relying on the civilian grid. Duffey also described the demonstration as moving the government closer to deploying nuclear power “when and where it is needed to give our nation’s warfighters the tools to win in battle,” according to the officials’ remarks around the trip.
In addition to the military uses described by defense officials, the flight is tied to a wider effort by the administration to reshape energy policy as electricity demand grows, including demand from artificial intelligence and data centers. The AP report said skeptics have warned that nuclear power poses risks and that microreactors may not be safe or feasible, while others have said they have not been shown to meet demand for a reasonable price.
Isaiah Taylor, CEO of Valar Atomics, the California startup that produced the reactor, said the unit airlifted to Utah can generate up to 5 megawatts of electricity, “enough to power 5,000 homes.” Taylor said Valar Atomics hopes to begin selling power on a test basis next year and to become fully commercial in 2028.
Wright said the microreactor flown to Utah will be sent to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for testing and evaluation, and he said fuel will be provided by the Nevada National Security site. Wright added, “The answer to energy is always more,” and he said the administration was trying to expand power options after restrictions on fossil fuels and other polluting energy under the Biden administration.
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the transport itself did not address safety or feasibility questions. Lyman said the flight amounted to what he described as “a dog-and-pony show” that “merely demonstrated the Pentagon’s ability to ship a piece of heavy equipment,” and he said it “doesn’t answer any questions about whether the project is feasible, economic, workable or safe — for the military and the public.”
Lyman said the administration “hasn’t made the safety case” for how microreactors would be transported securely once loaded with nuclear fuel, and he also said officials have not resolved how nuclear waste will be disposed of. The report said Wright responded to waste concerns by saying the Energy Department has been in talks with Utah and other states about sites that could reprocess fuel or handle permanent disposal.