Radiant is sending a nuclear reactor to Buckley in 18 months

Signals Inbox·July 18, 2026·Nuclear

Radiant says it plans to bring a nuclear microreactor to Buckley Space Force Base within 18 months. The real story is not simply that the military likes nuclear power. It is that a technology stuck in prototypes for years may finally have to power real missile-warning and space operations on a live American base.

Q1What actually happened?

The Defense Innovation Unit selected Radiant to develop a nuclear microreactor deployment at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado. Radiant President Tori Shivanandan now says the reactor is expected to go there in roughly 18 months. That would move its Kaleidos system from testing into a real military installation.

Q2Why put a reactor on a Space Force base?

Because space operations cannot simply pause during a blackout. Buckley supports missile warning, surveillance, communications, and intelligence missions that need electricity around the clock. A reactor could give the base steady power without depending entirely on the surrounding grid or constant fuel deliveries.

Q3Is this a giant nuclear power plant?

No. Radiant is building a microreactor, a much smaller system designed to be manufactured in a factory and transported to where power is needed. Its planned output is tiny beside a normal commercial reactor, but potentially large enough to support important sections of a military microgrid continuously for years.

Q4Has America already done this?

Not in the modern commercial microreactor era. The U.S. Army operated small land reactors during the Cold War, but that program ended in the 1970s. More recently, the Pentagon spent years developing Project Pele, while the Air Force pursued another reactor at Eielson in Alaska. Progress has been much slower than early timelines suggested.

Q5What makes the 18-month claim important?

It creates a very short execution clock for nuclear. Licensing, fuel, safety reviews, manufacturing, transport, installation, and local acceptance normally take years. Radiant still plans reactor testing at Idaho National Laboratory before Buckley. The tension is whether it can compress that whole path without the schedule slipping like earlier U.S. microreactor projects.

Q6Is Radiant the only company doing this?

No. Antares was selected for Joint Base San Antonio, Westinghouse for Malmstrom Air Force Base, Oklo has pursued Eielson, and BWXT is building the Pentagon’s Project Pele reactor. Radiant matters because Buckley could become one of the clearest tests of whether a venture-backed nuclear startup can deliver faster than traditional nuclear programs.

Q7So what should we watch next?

Watch whether Radiant completes full-power testing, secures the required approvals, obtains enough specialized nuclear fuel, and keeps the Buckley timeline intact. If the reactor actually supplies a live military base, microreactors stop being mostly a future promise. They become deployable defense infrastructure with a credible path to many more bases, remote sites, and data centers.