The announcement of the Pentagon's FORTRESS initiative has drawn attention to the U.S. military's strategies aiming to bolster its energy resilience amid concerns over grid reliability, supply-chain disruptions and other potential threats. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled the Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability (FORTRESS) initiative on September 30 in a memo, dubbing it "the nation's insurance policy" to ensure the U.S. would still be able to obtain the materials it needs and carry out operations if traditional supply chains were cut off. The Pentagon's focus on resilience mirrors a broader emphasis on preparedness seen in other countries.
Last week in Britain, officials encouraged households to keep basic emergency supplies available for short-term disruptions such as storms, infrastructure failures and power outages, as part of its Be Ready campaign. Energy independence is among the five pillars mentioned in the FORTRESS initiative. Army has already been pursuing that objective through its Janus Program, which aims to deploy nuclear microreactors at military sites.
Five bases have already been selected for the first wave of deployments, with the reactors designed to provide reliable power during grid outages, cyberattacks, extreme weather and other emergencies. The Janus program was not announced as part of FORTRESS. Rather, it is a separate Army effort unveiled last year.
Officials have also not characterized either Janus or FORTRESS as a response to any specific imminent threat. Instead, both initiatives are aimed at improving energy resilience and ensuring critical military operations can continue during disruptions. Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon via email for comment on Thursday.
Five U.S. military bases have been selected as sites where nuclear microreactors will be built as part of the Army's Janus program. The Army announced the sites and vendors in August. The Army's goal is for the first of these microreactors to be operational by September 2028.
Modern conflicts such as the long-running Russia-Ukraine tumult have underscored how critical infrastructure is increasingly targeted during wartime, including power stations, electrical grids and oil refineries. The FORTRESS initiative is designed to help ensure U.S. military installations can continue operating if similar disruptions affect domestic energy or supply networks. In addition to energy independence, the other four pillars of FORTRESS are: supply-chain and defense industrial base resilience; a strategic defense reserve; installation hardening and cyber resilience; and resilience in space and spectrum.
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