US Army airlifts mini nuclear reactor for first time

On February 15, the United States Armed Forces airlifted a mini nuclear reactor for the first time.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the reactor was transported from California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah as part of a White House initiative aimed at rapidly deploying energy sources to remote areas.

Deputy Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey said the experiment “gets us closer to deploying nuclear power when and where it is most needed to give our nation’s war fighters the tools to win.”

Following the transport, Valar Atomics — the company that developed the reactor — will begin a series of tests to gradually scale its power output from 250 kilowatts to 5 megawatts. The reactor uses TRISO fuel, in which uranium particles are encased in ceramic layers rather than using bulk uranium, and helium as a coolant.

In May 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating the construction of 10 new nuclear reactors in the United States by 2030. That same month, the resumption of uranium mining development in Utah was approved. In 2026, the White House eased nuclear safety directives for the construction of new atomic energy facilities.

By Vugar Khalilov