Naval Reactors

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Naval Reactors (NR) runs the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, overseeing the safe and reliable operation of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear reactors. The deputy administrator for Naval Reactors also serves as the program’s director, creating a single leadership team that reports to both NAVSEA 08 (under the Chief of Naval Operations) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NR is led by a four-star Navy admiral. The director typically serves about eight years, one of the longest standard assignments in the U.S. military.

The program began in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12344. In 1984 the NR director also became the deputy administrator for NR within NNSA to help with research, design, health, and safety matters related to naval nuclear propulsion. The order making NR a permanent federal program was established in 1999.

The Navy’s move toward nuclear power began in 1946–47, when Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Captain Hyman G. Rickover led a team to explore nuclear energy for ships. They laid the groundwork for nuclear propulsion in submarines. In 1947 Congress created the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to handle nuclear reactor development, and later that year the Navy approved a program to design and build nuclear power plants for submarines. At that time there was little experience with power reactors, but the goal was clear: to create submarines that could stay submerged and travel faster by using nuclear heat.

Captain Rickover quickly became the leading figure for naval reactors, directing progress toward the first nuclear-powered submarine, Nautilus. From 1949 to 1955 the program moved rapidly, delivering the Nautilus and several more submarines and reactor projects. NR has since built and operated more reactors than any other U.S. program.

Originally NR was a joint effort of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the Navy’s Bureau of Ships. After the AEC’s functions were reorganized, NR became a joint Navy-ERDA program, and later joined the Department of Energy (DOE). In the Navy, the Bureau of Ships evolved into NAVSEA, and NR became NAVSEA Code 08 (SEA 08).

Rickover’s leadership helped shape the program for decades, and he eventually became a full admiral in 1982, after heading Naval Reactors for more than 30 years. The history of naval propulsion and Rickover’s influence has been documented in official histories and many studies.

Today the Director of Naval Reactors remains a Deputy Administrator of the NNSA and NR continues to play a key role in maintaining the safety, reliability, and development of the Navy’s nuclear propulsion.