Pentagon Launches "FORTRESS America," Ordering Bases to Run 90 Days on Their Own, per Fox News
Bases Must Be Ready to Stand Alone
The Pentagon has launched "FORTRESS America," an initiative ordering major military bases in the continental US to be able to run on their own for at least 90 days.
Every major military installation in the continental United States must be able to sustain mission-critical operations independently for at least 90 days, per Fox News. Bases will need to keep power, water, fuel and communications running without relying on outside supply.
The initiative, unveiled by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his September 30, 2026 "State of the Force" address and detailed in internal Pentagon documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, covers roughly 500 US military installations.
"Power Is Combat Now"
FORTRESS drops the post-Cold War assumption that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans shield the American homeland during a major war.
"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," Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital.
"Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures," Parnell said.
"I realized that a lot of the way we think about homeland defense was built around the antiquated assumption that two oceans would protect us," he added. "President Trump understands that world is gone," pointing to Golden Dome, a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, Greenland and Panama.
Microgrids, Micro-Reactors and Stockpiles
Rather than relying on diesel backup generators that run dry within days, bases are ordered to deploy islandable microgrids backed by utility-scale battery storage and on-site solar, geothermal and gas generation.
Portable nuclear micro-reactors are part of the plan under the Army and Defense Innovation Unit's $2.2 billion Janus Program.
FORTRESS also sets wartime stockpile targets for munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies, based on wartime burn rates.
Every critical defense component must have at least two qualified domestic production pathways, so the loss of a single factory cannot halt operations. Through a Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, the Pentagon also plans to identify civilian factories that could switch to defense production in a crisis.
What This Means for Markets
A 90-day self-sufficiency standard across roughly 500 installations is a procurement program, not just a doctrine paper, and it points money at a specific set of suppliers.
Prime contractors LMT, RTX, NOC and GD sit in line for base infrastructure and resilience work.
The micro-reactor piece puts BWXT and advanced nuclear names like OKLO and SMR on the watch list, while battery storage and microgrid builders stand to benefit from the islanding requirement.
Traders will watch the Janus Program and upcoming defense budgets for contract awards that turn the 90-day standard into funded orders.
Bottom Line
The Pentagon is planning for a war in which the grid goes down at home. FORTRESS makes 90 days of independent power, water, fuel and communications the new baseline for American bases.
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