Overview
- The Feb. 15 C-17 airlift moved Valar Atomics’ minivan-sized Ward 250 microreactor from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, without nuclear fuel in a first-of-its-kind deployment exercise.
- The reactor is headed to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for evaluation, with DOE officials saying fuel will come from the Nevada National Security Site and targeting criticality by July 4 for this and at least two other units.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Duffey accompanied the cargo, touting microreactors for resilient power at bases and energy-hungry civilian sites under executive orders that accelerate some approvals.
- The logistics drill, part of the Janus Program and dubbed Operation Windlord, shipped the Ward 250 in modular form to demonstrate rapid delivery using C-17s to locations with shorter runways.
- Critics, including Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the airlift does not answer core questions on safety, cost, secure transport of fueled units, or long-term waste disposal.