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

The Donald Trump administration has introduced a new program aimed at installing mini nuclear reactors at major United States military bases, both on national territory and abroad, including the facilities at Rota and Morón de la Frontera in Spain.

The initiative, called the Jano Program, was officially announced during the AUSA arms fair, the country's largest defense event, and seeks to guarantee the energy supply of the bases in the event of possible blackouts or cyberattacks.

The Jano Program includes the construction of small-scale modular nuclear power plants within armed forces facilities. These reactors will allow each base to operate autonomously from the civilian power grid, reducing their vulnerability to supply interruptions or cyberattacks. According to the announcement, the project covers both bases on U.S. soil and in strategic international enclaves.

The U.S. Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, and the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, were responsible for detailing the plan's objectives. During the presentation, Driscoll emphasized the importance of ensuring continuous access to energy in conflict scenarios, especially with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. "We're going to need to be able to access energy like we've never needed it before," he stated.

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.