U.S. Army Tried Portable Nuclear Power at Remote Bases 60 Years Ago

[DGUtley]

The U.S. Army Tried Portable Nuclear Power at Remote Bases 60 Years Ago

The U.S. military’s first attempts at land-based portable nuclear reactors didn’t work out well in terms of environmental contamination, cost, human health, and international relations. That history is worth remembering as the military considers new mobile reactors.
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IN A TUNNEL 40 FEET beneath the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, a Geiger counter screamed. It was 1964, the height of the Cold War. U.S. soldiers in the tunnel, 800 miles from the North Pole, were dismantling the Army’s first portable nuclear reactor.


The Army called the reactor portable, even at 330 tons, because it was built from pieces that each fit in a C-130 cargo plane. It was powering Camp Century, one of the military’s most unusual bases.


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https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...uclear-reactor

[sark]

..it worked well.....this was a portable nuclear reactor-- very impressive--especially for that era...that whole operation was a remarkable accomplishment

[Peter1469]

DARPA has contracts out now for two types. On suitable to power bases. And another that can be transported with troops (probably for forward HQs).

And they are researching using solar panels and space with the ability to beam the power to earth.