Navy Picks Indiana Base for Small Nuclear Reactors
Crane joins three other bases in a Navy push for on-site advanced nuclear power, with contracts still to come.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Nuclear
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The U.S. Navy has selected Naval Weapons Station Crane in Indiana to support large-scale advanced nuclear power generation, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced on October 28. The Navy is seeking private-sector proposals for advanced nuclear power, particularly small modular reactors, and three other naval installations were also selected under the initiative. This is a government announcement of a siting and procurement effort; no reactor is reported as operating or under construction at Crane.
Why it matters
The move ties Crane more closely to the Department of Defense's Fortress America initiative, which aims to make military installations more resilient through independent energy supply. Crane was already selected earlier to host Radiant Nuclear's Kaleidos microreactor, so the new initiative extends a siting pattern that is now forming across Navy bases.
The Navy's solicitation centers on advanced nuclear power, particularly small modular reactors, which are smaller reactor designs that can be built in factories and deployed at a single site. The source reports no measured performance figures, output ratings, or cost comparisons for the selected systems.
The players
U.S. Navy
The military branch that selected Naval Weapons Station Crane and three other installations for advanced nuclear power and is soliciting private-sector proposals.
Hung Cao
Acting Secretary of the Navy who announced the initiative at the Northeast Indiana Defense Summit on October 28.
Radiant Nuclear
Nuclear company previously selected to host its Kaleidos microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane.
The details
The Navy is asking private companies to propose advanced nuclear power systems for its installations, with small modular reactors, or SMRs, named as the focus. An SMR is a reactor with a smaller output than conventional plants, designed to be manufactured in modules and shipped to a site, which can make siting easier on bases that need dependable local power. The initiative is framed as building on Fortress America, the Pentagon program whose name stands for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability. Under that framing, on-site generation is meant to keep critical facilities running if the wider grid is disrupted.
Timeline
October 28, 2026: Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced the initiative at the 5th annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit.
Earlier: Crane was selected to host Radiant Nuclear's Kaleidos microreactor, before this initiative was announced.
The Tech Race
Crane's earlier selection for Radiant Nuclear's Kaleidos microreactor placed the base among the first military sites pursuing small nuclear reactors. The Navy's expanded solicitation, covering four installations, signals that on-base nuclear generation is moving from a single pilot toward a broader procurement pattern.
Residents of Southern Indiana may see new jobs as the initiative develops, though the source gives no hiring timeline. For now, no change to electricity service or availability has been announced for the public.
The takeaway
Watch for the Navy's solicitation terms and the first named private-sector awardees for advanced nuclear power at Crane. Those contract decisions will show whether the initiative moves from site selection to actual reactor procurement.
Further reading
For broader context on reactor technology, see the Nuclear section, which tracks how small reactors and power projects are moving from design to deployment.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ExchangeMonitor.
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