Military Airlifts Small Reactor as Part of a Trump Project

In a first-of-its-kind move, three US C-17 transport jets on Sunday flew components of a compact, unfueled nuclear reactor from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah—where it will be tested. The device, a Valar Atomics Ward 250 "mini-reactor," sat in a plexiglass enclosure as Pentagon officials, Energy Department staff, industry representatives, and journalists rode alongside, the Wall Street Journal reports. Supporters contend reactors like the Ward 250 could quietly produce steady power in places where diesel and long fuel convoys are a problem, offering several megawatts of electricity to troops at lower cost and with fewer supply vulnerabilities—without the help of a civilian power grid, per the Hill.

Others warn that the Trump administration is accelerating approval for privately built designs that haven't been proven outside test environments, raising questions about safety and oversight. "There is no business case for microreactors, which—even if they work as designed—will produce electricity at a far higher cost than large nuclear reactors, not to mention renewables like wind or solar," said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, per Reuters. The Energy Department expects to have three microreactors at the point where a nuclear reaction can sustain itself by July 4, officials said.

The project is also central to President Trump's push to expand nuclear power, which includes a pledge to have at least three advanced reactors operating all of their systems on US soil by July 4, per the Journal. He signed four executive orders in May 2025 intended to have domestic nuclear power able to handle the energy needs of national security AI data centers, as well as space and cyber infrastructure. On Sunday's mission, Valar employees handed out black hats reading "Make Nuclear Great Again."