NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) has won a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract from AFWERX, the Air Force's innovation arm, to advance its Kronos MMR reactor design for U.S. Air Force use. The company said the award addresses what it called the most pressing challenges facing the Department of the Air Force, and its work under the contract starts July 21, 2026.

The program behind the award

AFWERX sits inside the Air Force Research Laboratory and runs the SBIR and STTR process the Department of the Air Force uses to fund small businesses. AFRL and AFWERX have worked to speed up that process, cutting the time between a proposal and an award and opening the applicant pool to more small companies. The Department of the Air Force has run its Open Topic SBIR/STTR program since 2018, the year it began funding a wider range of innovations.

In fiscal year 2025, AFWERX awarded more than 1,000 contracts worth a combined $1.37 billion and moved 438 projects into Phase III, a stage the company's release valued at $8.1 billion.

The reactor NANO Nuclear brings

The Kronos MMR is a stationary reactor cooled by high-temperature gas rather than water. A gas-cooled design like this circulates helium or another gas through the core to carry heat out, instead of using water as the coolant. NANO Nuclear said the Kronos MMR is already in construction-permit pre-application talks with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, work it is doing with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The award adds to a run of Air Force ties for the company. James Walker, NANO Nuclear's chief executive, said in prepared remarks: "We now have multiple active engagements with the Department of the Air Force." He said the contract builds on relationships that could lead to deployment at more Air Force installations.

Jay Yu, the company's founder and chairman, said in prepared remarks: "Energy resilience has become a strategic priority across the U.S. military." He said the company sees itself as an early entrant in the advanced microreactor market as it works through its Air Force programs, part of a wider push toward on-site power at military bases.

The rest of the business

NANO Nuclear also runs three subsidiaries tied to the reactor business. Advanced Fuel Transportation grew in May 2026 when it bought Secured Transportation Services and holds the exclusive license to a high-capacity HALEU fuel transport basket developed by three national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. HALEU Energy Fuel is working on a domestic HALEU fuel supply chain. NANO Nuclear Space is looking at reactor use in cis-lunar missions, the region of space between Earth and the Moon.