The Pentagon is preparing major military bases across the continental United States to operate independently for 90 days if a major war cripples civilian power grids and supply chains.
The requirement is part of FORTRESS, a broader plan to keep United States forces fighting even if domestic civilian infrastructure fails, according to documents reviewed by Fox News. Under the plan, every major military base in the continental United States would be expected to maintain essential operations, including independent access to electricity, water, fuel, and communications, for 90 days.
To keep bases running during blackouts, the plan envisions portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems, and independent local power grids. Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News: "We don't want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense. We just simply can't. It's an intolerable risk."
The Pentagon, located in Arlington, Virginia, serves as the headquarters of the United States military and oversees domestic installations across the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Historically, domestic military bases have relied heavily on commercial utility networks and municipal water systems for daily operations.
Power grids and domestic war planning
The move signals a shift in Pentagon planning toward wars that could reach American soil and disable the civilian systems that United States forces depend on. Officials are concerned that a prolonged outage could undermine the networks, factories, and essential services needed to sustain military operations, even while troops are fighting overseas.
"Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures," Parnell told Fox News.
Portable nuclear reactors, often called microreactors, are compact fission systems designed to generate electricity independently of public utility grids. When paired with industrial battery storage and independent local power grids, known as microgrids, these systems allow a facility to disconnect from failing municipal lines and keep essential operations running.
The preparations also reach into space, with efforts to protect satellite links and maintain military communications and navigation when Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are jammed or other space-based systems are disrupted. Operated by the United States Space Force, the GPS satellite network provides positioning, navigation, and timing data for both civilian infrastructure and military operations.
Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network and stockpiles
Under the strategy, civilian factories would also be prepared to switch to defense production, backed by stockpiles of ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies.
Critical military needs would require at least two qualified supply or production options to prevent the loss of a single supplier from disrupting operations. Stockpile targets would depend on how quickly supplies are consumed during a major conflict and how long manufacturers would need to replenish them, Fox News reported.
One element of the strategy is the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, which would identify commercial factories capable of switching to military production during a crisis. Rather than waiting for war to begin, the Pentagon plans to assess those factories and establish technical requirements, cybersecurity safeguards, contracts, and conversion procedures in advance.
The initiative also calls for repeated industrial stress tests and mobilization exercises to determine whether manufacturers could keep production running through prolonged disruption. In defense manufacturing, critical minerals are essential raw materials used to produce electronics, batteries, sensors, and weapons systems.
FORTRESS America directive and Pentagon leadership
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth formally established FORTRESS America in a September 30 memorandum that described the goal as "a homeland that cannot be starved out, shut down, or cut off."
The directive organizes the effort around five priorities: energy independence, stronger supply chains, strategic reserves, protection of military installations, and resilience in space and the electromagnetic spectrum, which covers the frequencies used for radio communications, radar, and satellite links.
The memorandum ordered the Pentagon's acquisition and sustainment leadership, the division responsible for defense contracting, logistics, and industrial policy, to establish a dedicated program office within 30 days. That office would begin with a small core team and expand to full operating capability within months, with the memorandum calling for results in weeks rather than years.
An October 6 implementation directive subsequently named Richard "Matt" O'Malley as interim director, according to DefenseScoop, which obtained the document. A two-star military adviser would assist him, while eight senior Pentagon officials were instructed to nominate representatives to coordinate with the office.
Those officials span personnel, industrial policy, installation management, technology, and financial oversight, reflecting how many parts of the department would need to work together. The public founding memorandum establishes the program's structure and priorities, while the more detailed 90-day requirement was subsequently described in Fox News's reporting.
"You don't want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi-front conflict. We have to have a plan," Parnell said. The Daily Mail has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
