Trump's administration wants to build nuclear reactors on all US military bases

The push for this project is part of a broader energy strategy ordered by the White House. In May, President Donald Trump signed a decree instructing the Pentagon to develop a comprehensive atomic strategy for all military branches. This mandate led to the Jano Program, which is modeled after the small modular reactors (SMR) already used in the civilian sector.

The U.S. government acknowledged that installing these reactors will generate a public consultation process. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment, Jeff Waksman, assured that there will be ongoing dialogue with local communities before moving forward with any site, and that no project will be carried out without the consent of regional authorities.

In the case of foreign bases, such as those at Rota and Morón, which are key within NATO's defense system in Europe, any deployment of nuclear material will require the approval of host governments and coordination with the U.S. Congress.

The Jano Program adds to previous Department of Defense projects aimed at developing portable and scalable nuclear energy. Among them are the Pele Project, approved in 2020 to design mobile reactors, and the 2024 innovation competitions, which involved companies such as BWX Technologies, Westinghouse, and X-Energy.

According to the White House's forecast, the first mini reactors could be operational in 2028, although the program's technical and contractual details will be published in the coming weeks.