The 5 MW Ward250 reactor – without its nuclear fuel – was loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the March Air Reserve Base in California on 15 February and flown to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey were on the flight. The airlift – named Operation Windlord – was aimed at demonstrating the potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use.
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(Image Valar Atomics)
Valar Atomics was announced in August last year as one of the initial selectees under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, announced in June 2025. The programme aims to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs that will be authorised by the Department of Energy at sites located outside of the national laboratories. Part of the Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing in the Department of Energy executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May, its goal is “to construct, operate, and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using the DOE authorisation process by 4 July, 2026”.
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(Image: Wendy Day – US Air Force)
In September, the company broke ground at Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), a unit within the Utah Office of Energy Development, for its first test reactor, called Ward250, and has completed a non-nuclear prototype called Ward Zero. It has also been selected by the DOE alongside Terrestrial Energy, TRISO-X and Oklo for a pilot programme to build advanced nuclear fuel lines.
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(Image: Valar Atomics)
Fuel for the reactor will be transported separately from the Nevada National Security site to the San Rafael facility, Wright was reported as saying by Reuters.
The Ward250 could provide power to about 5,000 homes. For military use, such a reactor could provide energy security on a military base ensuring the mission there need not depend on the civilian power grid, and in military operations overseas, such reactors would mean US forces could operate without concern that an enemy might cut fuel supplies.
“Powering next generation warfare will require us to move faster than our adversaries, to build a system that doesn’t just equip our warfighters to fight, but equips them to win at extraordinary speed,” Duffey said. “Today is a monumental step toward building that system. By supporting the industrial base and its capacity to innovate, we accelerate the delivery of resilient power to where it’s needed.”
