US military airlifts a nuclear reactor across three states after Trump pushes for more of the energy source

The U.S. military has successfully transported a small nuclear reactor by air, advancing the Trump administration’s plan to deploy the energy source across the nation.

The “next-generation” Valar Atomics Ward 250 nuclear reactor — comparable in size to a large truck — was loaded onto a C-17 transport plane at the March Air Reserve Base in California on Sunday.

It was then flown about 700 miles to the Hill Air Force Base in Utah. It will eventually be sent to an energy lab in the state for evaluation and testing, the Pentagon announced.

The compact, 5-megawatt reactor could potentially power up to 5,000 homes or ensure reliable and secure energy for a military base.

The reactor’s flight aligns with President Donald Trump’s plan to modernize America’s nuclear power infrastructure — a goal bolstered by a series of executive orders he signed in May.

“It is the policy of the United States to expedite and promote to the fullest possible extent the production and operation of nuclear energy to provide affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy to the American people,” one of the orders states.

Michael Duffy, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, lauded the operation — which was jointly carried out by the Defense and Energy Departments.

“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.”

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright added that the administration’s goal is to have a trio of small reactors online by July 4.

“The American nuclear renaissance is to get that ball moving again, fast, carefully, but with private capital, American innovation and determination,” Wright said.

Currently, there are 94 operable nuclear reactors in the U.S., which generate about 20 percent of the country’s electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Polls show that the American public is broadly on board with nuclear power in spite of several major accidents throughout the past decades.

According to a Gallup survey conducted last year, 61 percent of Americans favor using nuclear energy, marking a near-record high. Republicans were significantly more likely to support nuclear energy than Democrats.