The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (the NDAA) was signed into law by US President Donald Trump on December 18, 2025. Through the NDAA, the US Congress sets the year’s policy direction for the US Armed Forces. As an annual “must pass” bill, it also becomes a vehicle to move other legislative provisions through Congress. This year, the NDAA contained several key provisions important to the domestic nuclear industry with an eye toward facilitating and promoting the US nuclear industry abroad.
Sec. 8366. This section, known as the International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025, supports the US civil nuclear energy industry’s prospects abroad by establishing working groups, interagency cooperation, and funding. Specifically, Section 8366 establishes a Nuclear Export Working Group to develop a 10-year civil nuclear trade strategy, including targets for the export of light water and non-light water reactors, associated equipment and technology, nuclear fuel, and nuclear materials. This differs from the now-disbanded Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee, which was comprised of private-sector experts who advised only the secretary of commerce.
The Nuclear Export Working Group is instead comprised of senior-level federal officials. The president also shall engage with traditional US partner countries that are seeking to develop their own civil nuclear energy sector. The policy envisions a greater federal role in helping foreign countries develop their own nuclear safety regimes and new efforts to leverage private investment and the Export-Import Bank to support US nuclear exports throughout the fuel cycle.
Importantly, Section 8366 directs the US Department of State to engage in bilateral and multilateral outreach to US allies to develop collaborative relationships for the research, development, and deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies, with an eye toward demonstrating and deploying advanced nuclear reactors. “Advanced nuclear reactor” is defined as it is in Section 951(b)(1)(A) of the Energy Policy Act as “a nuclear fission reactor, including a prototype plant [as defined by the NRC in 10 CFR Part 50], with significant improvements compared to reactors operating on the date of enactment of the Energy Act of 2020, including improvements such as [the modifications listed in provisions (i) through (xi)].” These engagements will focus on developing agreements to demonstrate and deploy advanced reactors, develop cooperative research facilities, and agree to financing arrangements to share the costs of these efforts. The act authorizes $15,500,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030 for this outreach.
Section 8366 dramatically expands international nuclear energy policy and cooperation programs to focus on enhancing civil nuclear cooperation with countries that are currently working with Russia and China on nuclear power. It instructs the secretary of the US Department of Energy (DOE) to promote the use of US reactors, fuel, equipment, and services abroad, including by empowering US nuclear energy companies to negotiate agreements with foreign countries. It also provides a waiver from antitrust laws when necessary to carry out the program’s objectives.
Section 8366 also establishes a program to provide technical assistance, capacity building, and grants to embarking nuclear nations, including helping these nations develop their own regulatory bodies, legal frameworks, and workforce training, and it promotes participation in the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. This program is expected to help lay the groundwork in these nations for future cooperation with US nuclear technology providers.
Up to $15,500,000 for FY 2026 through 2030 is authorized for this program. Section 8366 also directs the federal government to organize biennial conferences on civil nuclear safety, security, safeguards, and sustainability to promote policies that enhance US exports and combat the influence of China and Russia in the civil nuclear energy arena. Relatedly, within six months, the secretary of state, in consultation with the secretary of energy, must deliver to Congress a strategy to promote US nuclear exports and energy companies, particularly in nations where Rosatom is present, with the goal of ending reliance on the Russian nuclear energy sector.
The secretary of state must renegotiate or renew peaceful nuclear cooperations agreements under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (known as 123 Agreements) that are set to expire in the next 10 years and negotiate additional 123 Agreements with new countries. This provision codifies similar direction to the State Department made in Executive Order 14299, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security. In Executive Order 14299, the president directed the secretary of state to pursue at least 20 new 123 Agreements by January 3, 2029 and to renegotiate expiring 123 Agreements. These actions are preconditions to most exports, because a 123 Agreement is required before the NRC can approve exports of reactors and nuclear fuel to the recipient country under 10 CFR Part 110. The DOE also uses 123 Agreements as a minimum threshold for granting general authorizations for certain nuclear technology exports under 10 CFR Part 810.
Finally, and importantly, Section 8366 includes a savings provision clarifying that the authority of the NRC is unaffected (for instance, the NRC has long worked to provide technical assistance to foreign regulators establishing nuclear programs). These provisions will sunset in 20 years.
Leveraging Civil Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Defense
Several provisions incentivize the domestic nuclear industry through US Department of Defense (DOD) programs.
Sec. 318. This provision creates a DOD executive agent and charges the agent with determining DOD’s needs for nuclear energy and the nuclear power generation capabilities that may meet those needs. The agent also is responsible for coordinating with the DOE and NRC to evaluate regulatory frameworks applicable to military nuclear use. Finally, the agent is responsible for submitting a plan to Congress to facilitate installing and operating nuclear energy to meet DOD needs.
Sec. 319. This provision establishes an Advanced Nuclear Technologies Transition Working Group to help transition advanced nuclear technologies from the research and development phase to full military operational status. This group will identify DOD needs that may be addressed with advanced nuclear reactors, identify regulatory hurdles within the DOD to addressing those needs, and propose solutions to accelerate the adoption of small modular reactors. It also will provide recommendations for at least three pilot projects within the DOD. Importantly for nuclear stakeholders, it will evaluate opportunities for DOD to support testing, evaluation, and procurement of new nuclear power technologies.
Sec. 321. This provision directs the secretary of the US Navy to conduct a 10-year pilot program for deploying advanced nuclear reactors at Navy installations. When selecting potential reactors for the pilot program, the Navy is required to consider the type of fuel for advanced nuclear power production, with a preference for those resistant to high heat, like tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, and reactors that include a passive cooling system to ensure operational safety. The pilot program’s goal is to evaluate nuclear energy’s ability to provide 24/7 mission-essential power and thermal energy, reducing reliance on the commercial grid. The pilot program requires the Navy to report to Congress on barriers to deploying nuclear power from military installations to civilian energy grids.
Facilitating Entry – Indemnifying Contractors Against Nuclear Risks
Sec. 876. Section 876 provides that requests for indemnification against “nuclear and unusually hazardous risks,” including those involving the procurement of commercial nuclear technology, submitted by a contractor to a DOD contracting official should be adjudicated within 90 days and should include, to the extent practicable, input from the Defense Contract Management Agency. Contractor requests for indemnification of this kind are made under Public Law 85-804, which provides the president authority to allow federal agencies to provide extraordinary contractual relief for contracts vital to national defense. This provision ensures contract performance when standard contracting rules otherwise would prevent necessary adjustments. This relief allows for Price-Anderson protection for participants in advanced reactor programs with DOD that otherwise is available only through the NRC and DOE.
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