# Project 458 — Nuclear Power

**Program element:** 0603055D8Z — Operational Energy Capability Improvement  
**Project:** 458  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 3 — Advanced Technology Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z/458  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z

## Summary

Project 458 — Nuclear Power requests $29.1M in FY2027, 18% of the $165.1M requested for program element 0603055D8Z, down 2.2% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request.

**Markets:** Nuclear Modernization — matched on the project title only, and no market size is quoted.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Enacted | 29.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 29.1 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 29.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 30.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 30.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 31.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603055D8Z; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 458 buys

This project is revolutionizing DoW operations by spearheading innovations in nuclear power in advanced nuclear reactors and radioisotope power systems (RPS) for Joint operations and across all domains. As a strategic priority for the Administration, nuclear power is poised to transform energy surety by: • Unleashing Unprecedented Energy Density: Increasing the energy density of existing fossil fuel systems by approximately 1,000,000x, enabling longer mission durations and reduced logistical dependencies. • Extending Power Lifetimes in Extreme Environments: Dramatically extending power system lifetime in remote and austere locations, ensuring reliable power for critical operations in challenging environments. • Reducing the Risk and Burden on Personnel: Decreasing operational risk and burden on personnel compared to traditional power systems (e.g., chemical batteries and fossil fuels), lessoning high risk re-supply logistics and freeing up military resources for other mission-critical tasks. The nuclear power portfolio's investments are focused on making nuclear technologies safer, lighter, more secure, more efficient, more economical, and more operational for the DoW. To achieve these goals, this project is driving technology improvements in the supply chain and power conversion efficiency of RPS and fission subsystems and components, as well as de-risking complete fission mobile nuclear reactor systems. These technology development efforts include investments in cutting-edge materials like efficient carbon/carbon, shielding optimizations, betavoltaics, alphavoltaics, alpha photovoltaics, Stirling energy conversion technology, and supercritical CO2 energy conversion systems (sCO2). The nuclear power portfolio also funds studies exploring the regulatory needs and warfighter training for safely and efficiently deploying nuclear technologies.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Power | — | 29.8 | 29.1 | −2% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z/458/a0) |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### Nuclear Power

In FY 2027, OECIF advances DoW's nuclear energy dominance and bolsters national security by using the same process of FY 2026, but focusing on the key topics of: • Fortifying the Domestic Nuclear Supply Chain: Conducting comprehensive supply chain gap analyses in collaboration with service branch nuclear offices and interagency partners…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z/458/a0

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603055D8Z project 458 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603055D8Z")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*