A nearly 700-mile airlift of a small nuclear reactor from California to Utah put the Pentagon and the Energy Department on display for a goal that Defense and energy officials described as faster deployment of nuclear power for both military and civilian needs.
The trip, carried out last weekend, transported a fuel-free 5-megawatt microreactor—described as minivan-sized—on a C-17 military aircraft from March Air Reserve Base to Hill Air Force Base, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey, who traveled with the privately built reactor.
Wright said the flight marked a milestone in the administration’s efforts to accelerate nuclear licensing for microreactors. Speaking before the two-hour flight from California to Utah, Wright told reporters, “Today is history. A multi-megawatt, next-generation nuclear power plant is loaded in the C-17 behind us.”
Duffey said the microreactor concept is aimed at providing power where it is needed. He said microreactors, designed to be portable, could “accelerate the delivery of resilient power to where it’s needed,” and that mobile reactors eventually could provide energy security on military bases without the civilian grid.
The airlift also highlighted the Trump administration’s broader nuclear push, including for energy demand tied to artificial intelligence and data centers. Officials said the administration is working to reshape U.S. energy policy and to promote nuclear power as a carbon-free source of electricity, even as critics argue the technology has not yet proven it can be delivered safely and at a reasonable cost.
In recent months, Wright and other administration officials have tied nuclear microreactor progress to changes in regulatory authority. Wright said President Donald Trump signed executive orders last year that allow Wright to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.
Wright also set out a timeline for reactor milestones, saying the microreactor flown to Utah was one of at least three that would reach “criticality”—when a nuclear reaction can sustain an ongoing series of reactions—by July 4. He said the effort represented “the start of a nuclear renaissance,” adding, “That’s speed, that’s innovation, that’s the start of a nuclear renaissance.”
Isaiah Taylor, the CEO of Valar Atomics, said the microreactor being transported to Utah will be able to generate up to 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 5,000 homes. Taylor said the company hopes to start selling power on a test basis next year and become fully commercial in 2028, and he said the reactor’s fuel would be provided by the Nevada National Security site.
Safety concerns have not been fully addressed, experts say. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the transport demonstration—with reporters and TV crews present—was little more than “a dog-and-pony show” that demonstrated the Pentagon’s ability to ship heavy equipment. Lyman said the flight did not answer whether the project is feasible, economic, workable or safe for either the military or the public.
Lyman also said the administration had not made the safety case for how microreactors could be transported securely once loaded with nuclear fuel for use at data centers or military bases. He added that officials have not resolved how nuclear waste would be disposed of, even though Wright said the Energy Department is in talks with Utah and other states about hosting sites that could reprocess fuel or handle permanent disposal.
Wright said the microreactor flown to Utah would be sent to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for testing and evaluation. He also framed the effort as part of a broad shift in energy policy, saying, “The answer to energy is always more,” and adding that after four years of restrictions on fossil fuels and other polluting energy under the Biden administration, “Now we’re trying to set everything free. And nuclear will be flying soon.”