The Department of Defense has selected eight companies to demonstrate their ability to deliver safe and secure nuclear power under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations, or ANPI, program.

The chosen vendors are also eligible to receive other transaction awards to deliver commercial dual-use microreactor technology at DOD installations, the Defense Innovation Unit said Thursday. The effort will advance the ANPI program, which aims to build on-site microreactor nuclear power systems to support global military operations across land, air, sea, space and cyberspace.

Safeguarding US National Security

ANPI will deliver the needed technology that will help the United States maintain its nuclear advantage and safeguard the country’s national security, according to Andrew Higier, energy portfolio director at DIU. “Microreactors on installations are a critical first step in delivering energy dominance to the force. Tapping into the commercial sector’s rapid advancements in this area is critical due to the significant private investment in this space over the last few years,” he explained.

Achieving Mission Readiness Through Energy Resilience

The selected companies include Antares Nuclear, BWXT Advanced Technologies, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Kairos Power, Oklo, Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Government Services and X-Energy. Their work will be guided by the following ANPI objectives: providing mission readiness through energy resilience, deploying nuclear power to support installation readiness goals and empower warfighters, building a scalable microreactor system to deliver electrical power for all critical loads and enabling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to stimulate commercial nuclear microreactor technology development.

Under ANPI, the DIU, the Army and the Air Force are working together to design, build and operate microreactor nuclear power plants on military installations.

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to field new technologies to address the growing global threat of small unmanned aircraft systems. The service will evaluate dismounted counter-sUAS platforms to protect American and allied troops and maintain an operational advantage, the DOD said Wednesday. 

Marine Corps Drone Threat

Adversaries are increasingly deploying sUAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance or to attack targets. Aside from its low manufacturing cost, the technology is agile, easy to use and generates low radar signature. 

Although small, sUAS can compromise security, destroy critical military assets, disrupt operations and even lead to loss of life. 

“One of the things that is apparent to all of us is that unmanned aerial systems are a threat not just to infantry Marines, but to all Marines,” explained Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, head of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, via Defense One. 

Counter-sUAS Testing to Begin Soon

The Marine Corps did not identify which technologies for fielding, but officials shared that the prototype platforms will enable warfighters to detect, track, identify and defeat enemy drones through kinetic and non-kinetic effects. 

“These systems will be lightweight, easy-to-use, easy-to-train, military occupational specialty-agnostic, and, to the maximum extent possible, use weapon systems organic to individual units,” Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesperson for Combat Development and Integration, told Task & Purpose. 

A service official also said the Marine Expeditionary Units and Marine Littoral Regiments will be first to test out the C-sUAS platforms in the coming weeks.