Air Force Seeks Suppliers to Deliver on Nuclear Micro-Reactor Goals

The Air Force is advancing its effort to develop micro-nuclear reactors to power military installations.

In a request for information posted March 25 on SAM.gov, the Air Force said it is looking for information from companies on their ability to design, license, fuel, construct, and deploy small nuclear reactor technologies.

Just a month before, Airmen demonstrated the ability to transport a small nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, flying from one base to another to prove how easily such reactors could be moved in the field.

The Air Force aims to start equipping by the end of the decade as many as nine bases, including Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Outfitting bases with micro-reactors promises to ensure secure and reliable power better protected from cyberattacks and natural disasters than public utility systems.

The March 25 notice says USAF plans to use information gathered from the query to discover whether enough sources exist for micro-reactors to hold a competitive procurement—or whether a small business set-aside will be needed.

The request for information asks respondents to describe their core small, micro, or modular reactor technologies, including the type of reactor, its output, and how it could be deployed. Companies also will have to describe domestic manufacturing facilities and their supply chains, including any foreign dependencies. They must detail leading indicators of reactor failure and early warning signals that should be monitored, among other technical details.

The information will be used to define the service’s acquisition strategy.

Companies must respond to the RFI by April 19, the notice said.

The small reactor industry has expanded in recent years and now includes more than a half dozen competitors:

BWXT of Lynchburg, Va., Rolls-Royce in Britain, and Westinghouse in Cranberry, Pa., are all well-established firms
Oklo Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., has been tapped to build a micro-reactor at Eielson
Valar Atomics, of Hawthorne, Calif., built the small nuclear reactor flown on the C-17
X-Energy of Rockville, Md., is a startup with backing from Amazon
TerraPower of Bellevue, Wash., is building a demo plant in Wyoming
Kairos Power of Alameda, Calif., has a deal with Google to provide reactors to power some of its data centers

The Air Force on Feb. 17 also detailed how Airmen from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing prepared, inspected and loaded a next-generation reactor—known as a Ward 250 reactor—onto a C-17 at March Air Reserve Base in California. 

The C-17 took off Feb. 14 and arrived at Hill Air Force Base in Utah the next day as part of the interagency mission, dubbed Operation Windlord.

The Ward 250 is a containerized 5-megawatt system designed to provide deployable energy capability, the Air Force said. It was scheduled to start testing and evaluation at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab, as part of a partnership between the Energy and Defense departments.

“Our Airmen executed complex logistics operations with precision and professionalism to ensure this critical asset was safely prepared, inspected and loaded fro transport,” Maj. Edward Bobbett, Commander of the 452nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, said in the Feb. 17 release. “March continues to serve as a national power projection platform, supporting all services, allied partners and innovation organizations as we deliver strategic capability when and where it’s needed.”