• World-first nuclear reactor delivery by US Air Force Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Email In a world first, the US Department of Defense (aka the Department of War) airlifted a complete 5-MW nuclear reactor using a C-17 Globemaster III transport from March Air Reserve Base, California to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for assembly and operation. • Part of the Janus Program, the February 15, 2026 event, called Operation Windlord, involved three C-17s loaded with an unfueled Ward250 next-generation microreactor that had been disassembled into eight distinct modules. • These were containerized or skid-loaded for rapid deployment. • The exercise was carried out by the 62nd Airlift Wing, the only US Air Force unit certified to routinely transport US nuclear weapons to ensure both safety and security. • It demonstrated that a nuclear reactor can be treated as rolling stock like any other piece of equipment and delivered to remote locations with a 3,500-ft (1,000-m) runway. • Once there, the reactor can be reassembled, fueled, and brought into full operation in record time.
Article Summaries:
- The U.S. Air Force has completed the first commercial‑scale airlift of a fully‑assembled nuclear reactor, a 5‑MW Ward250 microreactor, from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The operation, part of the Janus Program and dubbed Operation Windlord, used three C‑17 Globemaster III aircraft to transport the reactor’s eight modular components. The 62nd Airlift Wing, the only Air Force unit certified to move nuclear weapons, demonstrated that the reactor can be shipped, reassembled, fueled and brought online-expected by July 4, 2026-using a routine logistics chain. The move aims to provide reliable power to remote military sites and disaster‑relief efforts, while advancing the U.S. nuclear power sector.
Sources: