Nuclear power is experiencing a global resurgence as countries and technology companies seek reliable clean energy to power soaring data center demand and meet climate commitments. However, the rapid proliferation of small modular and conventional reactors is outpacing international safety rules, creating complex new vulnerabilities for civilian and military infrastructure in active conflict zones.
The global push for carbon-free power to support rapid technological expansion has thrust nuclear energy back into the spotlight. Across Europe and Asia, governments are pursuing energy self-reliance by investing in both conventional plants and next-generation designs, War on the Rocks reported.
Seoul is working to deepen nuclear cooperation in the East, while Saudi Arabia is pushing to enter the civil nuclear sector in West Asia. South Asia has seen amendments to decades-old civil nuclear laws, and a growing roster of countries are seeking 123 agreements with the United States.
This momentum extends to nearly 80 small and advanced reactor designs currently under development worldwide. Proponents pitch these units as flexible public relations vehicles that are easier to deploy than large, conventional plants.
Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
Despite their purported safety features, these reactors introduce distinct governance and security risks when sited in or near conflict zones. The central dilemma is whether these facilities will become sitting ducks exposed to enemy attack or strategic shields that constrain an adversary’s military choices.
Many advanced microreactors are being designed for co-location with military installations and data centers to secure independent power grids. When a reactor directly supports military functions, its status under the laws of armed conflict changes.
Article 56 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions provides nuclear electricity-generating stations with special protection against attacks. However, that protection ceases if the facility provides electric power in regular, significant, and direct support of military operations.
Because Washington has not signed Additional Protocol I, it maintains that striking atomic energy facilities can be lawful when adhering to the principles of proportionality and distinction detailed inside the Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual.
Russia remains a party to the protocol yet has continued attacks on nuclear infrastructure. Meanwhile, Rule 42 of the customary international humanitarian law framework stipulates that attacks on installations containing dangerous forces must be conducted with particular caution.
Microreactors Enable Modular Redeployment Through Air Transport
The potential transportability of advanced microreactors introduces further uncertainty by conflating physical mobility with strategic ambiguity. Earlier this year, a C-17 aircraft carried an unfueled Valar Atomics Ward 250 microreactor from California to Utah in a joint operation by the Departments of Energy and Defense.
The exercise marked the first air transport of a nuclear microreactor in the country, demonstrating that compact power systems designed for expeditionary environments could enable modular redeployment.
China has pursued vehicle-mounted reactor prototypes dubbed nuclear power banks, alongside longer-term proposals for nuclear-powered tanks equipped with electromagnetic railguns.
