The U.S. Department of Defense, referred to by the Trump administration as the U.S. Department of War, announced the first advanced nuclear Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) at a Naval Weapons Station would happen in Indiana no later than September 2028.
The planned installation of the MMR at NWS Crane is part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to deploy advanced nuclear reactor technologies to restore American nuclear leadership globally, the department said. The MMR project will be executed jointly by the Army’s Janus Program, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)), and the State of Indiana, officials said. Together, the project will help secure continuous power for the defense technology and weapons installations. The deployment will also help create skilled jobs, strengthen the American nuclear supply chain and rebuild the industrial capacity required for national defense.
“Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the Department of War is rapidly fielding next-generation energy solutions for our warfighters,” Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, said. “We are unleashing the American nuclear industrial base to ensure our military installations possess the resilient infrastructure required to maintain uninterrupted operations.”
The MMR installation marks the first step in a larger, unified department-wide effort to deploy safe and secure nuclear power for national security. The installation will provide reliable power independent of the commercial electric grid, and capable of sustaining critical operations under the most demanding conditions, officials said.
“Energy security is warfighting capability. Hosting the Navy’s first shore-based advanced microreactor at NWS Crane under the Janus Program underscores our commitment to hardening our shore infrastructure against evolving physical, cyber, and grid vulnerabilities,” Brendan Rogers, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, said. “Partnering with the Army and OASW(CT) allows us to move with speed, establish a resilient firm power backbone, and protect the vital research, development, and manufacturing our Fleet depends on every day.”