U.S. Airlifts Portable Nuclear Reactor by C-17 for the First Time

U.S. Air Force transport aircraft have delivered a portable nuclear reactor for the first time to support American military forces.

The U.S. Department of War announced this on its official X (formerly Twitter) page.

The delivery was made under a presidential executive order dated May 23, 2025, which calls for deploying advanced nuclear reactor technologies to strengthen national security.

The 5-megawatt reactor was transported by a C-17 Globemaster III military cargo aircraft, demonstrating the capability to rapidly deploy such systems in the air to remote or potentially hazardous areas without relying on civilian power infrastructure.

In the fall of 2025, the U.S. Army, together with the Department of Energy, announced the launch of the Janus program.

On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to deploy advanced nuclear reactor technologies for national security purposes.

Yesterday, we took the next step toward achieving this historic mission. pic.twitter.com/hIEd1nlnmf

— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 16, 2026

The initiative calls for installing small nuclear reactors at U.S. military bases to enhance energy independence and resilience.

The program is named after Janus, the Roman god of transitions, symbolizing the shift from experimental prototypes to the practical use of nuclear power to support military infrastructure.

Unlike U.S. Navy reactors, which the federal government owns, the small reactors developed under the Janus program will be owned by private companies. The U.S. Army will be responsible for overseeing and supervising their operation.

The Department of Energy is supporting the project in three main areas: producing HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium) fuel, testing reactor prototypes, and reforming regulatory policies to speed up deployment of these technologies.