The Department of Defense is preparing for a potential "doomsday" scenario in which America's power grid collapses, supply chains grind to a halt, and military installations are forced to operate for three months without outside support, according to Fox News.
The unprecetended plan, branded FORTRESS by Pentagon planners, aims to make major military bases across the continental United States capable of functioning independently for at least 90 days, according to documents obtained by the news outlet.
"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," DoD spokesperson Sean Parnell said.
The Pentagon is exploring portable nuclear reactors, massive battery installations, and independent microgrids that would allow bases to disconnect from civilian power systems during prolonged blackouts. Officials have long feared that the lose of electricity could cripple communications, logistics, weapons production, and military command structures.
FORTRESS also reportedly calls for stockpiling ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies, while preparing civilian factories to rapidly transition into wartime production.
The Pentagon also plans recurring industrial stress tests and mobilization exercises, alongside measures to protect military communications and navigation systems from satellite disruptions and GPS jamming.
"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," Parnell said. "President Trump understands that world is gone, and he's already paved the way for new thinking: Golden Dome, a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, Greenland, Panama."
"The next conflict will likely be fought on multiple fronts. Look at the geopolitics behind any major war. When that happens, global supply chains will break," the official added. "You don't want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi-front conflict. We have to have a plan."
The ongoing threats to America's power grid come from both foreign adversaries and domestic saboteurs.
In February 2024, the NSA and other federal agencies warned that Chinese state-sponsored hackers linked to Volt Typhoon had compromised critical U.S. infrastructure networks, including energy, water, transportation, and communications systems.
In December 2022, gunmen attacked two electrical substations in North Carolina, plunging roughly 45,000 customers into darkness and leaving some without power for five days.
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