This week the U.S. Department of the Army announced it would launch the Janus Program, a next-generation nuclear power program that will deliver resilient, secure and assured energy to support national defense installations.
The department said Executive Order 14299 directed the U.S. Department of Defense to start an Army-regulated nuclear reactor at a domestic military installation no later than Sept. 30, 2028. The U.S. Army will lead the Janus Program, officials said, on behalf of the DoD.
“The U.S. Army is leading the way on fielding innovative and disruptive technology,” the Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said. “We are shredding red tape and incubating next-generation capabilities in a variety of critical sectors, including nuclear power.”
Officials said the Janus Program will leverage the Army’s nuclear regulatory authorities in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure safety, oversight and transparency standards are met.
“Since the Manhattan Project, the Department of Energy and the Department of War have forged one of the defining partnerships in American history—advancing the science, engineering, and industrial capability that power our national security,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. “What began as a wartime effort became the backbone of America’s peacetime strength. Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re extending that legacy through initiatives like the Janus Program, accelerating next-generation reactor deployment and strengthening the nuclear foundations of American energy and defense.”
The program will build commercial microreactors through a milestone-based contracting model in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit. The reactors will be commercially owned-and-operated, modeled after the contracting mechanism in NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.