CRANE — The U.S. Navy has selected El Segundo, California-based Radiant Industries, Inc. to design, build, and deliver a prototype nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Crane in southern Indiana.
The military initiative aims to supply reliable, dispatchable power for critical base operations completely independent of the commercial electrical grid.
The “Kaleidos” Technology
Under the agreement, Radiant will deploy its flagship Kaleidos microreactor—a factory-built, 1-megawatt portable power system.
Key features of the Kaleidos technology include:
- Mobility: Designed to be transportable by air, land, or sea in standard shipping containers.
- No Cooling Water Required: Operates using helium gas cooling, eliminating the need for proximity to large water sources.
- Long Lifespan: Capable of running for up to five years between refuelings with an overall design lifespan of 20 years.
- Zero Construction Footprint: Arrives pre-assembled, reducing initial site construction requirements.
The Kaleidos design is currently undergoing performance and safety testing at the Idaho National Laboratory’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility.
Part of the Military-Wide Janus Program
The project is executed in coordination with the U.S. Army’s Janus Program, a Department of Defense initiative aimed at establishing grid-resilient microreactors across defense installations nationwide. The NWS Crane installation will mark the first shore-based nuclear microreactor in U.S. Navy history, as well as the state of Indiana’s first advanced microreactor.
The agreement builds on Radiant’s broader $750 million contract signed with the Department of Defense to potentially deploy up to 15 Kaleidos units across various branches, including additional projects underway at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and Fort Benning in Georgia.
Next Steps and Project Timeline
Before the prototype becomes operational, the project will move through several development stages, including:
- Comprehensive environmental impact reviews
- Site planning and infrastructure integration at NWS Crane
- Regulatory coordination and rigorous safety testing
Defense officials target the deployment to be operational at NWS Crane no later than September 2028.
