Overview
- The Department of the Air Force, working with the Defense Innovation Unit, named Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana as preferred sites for its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program.
- Air Force and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory teams vetted the sites and cited utility infrastructure, land, and mission needs in the choice.
- Commercial companies will site, license, build, run, and retire the reactors under a contractor-owned model, with operations targeted by 2030.
- The microreactors are designed to provide resilient power for critical missions, with systems that can run for years without refueling and without relying on the commercial grid.
- The ANPI effort is distinct from the separate microreactor pilot underway at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.