Pentagon Plan Would Require Every Major U.S. Base to Run for 90 Days Without Outside Power, Water or Fuel
Fox News says documents for a new initiative called FORTRESS also call for munitions and fuel reserves, backup supply lines and a roster of civilian factories that could switch to war production.
The Pentagon is preparing U.S. military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days with no outside support, in case a major war knocks out power grids and supply chains at home, Fox News Digital reports.
The plan. Fox says the 90-day rule is part of a broader initiative called FORTRESS, described in documents it reviewed. Every major installation in the continental U.S. would be expected to keep essential operations going on its own for that long, including electricity, water, fuel and communications.
The reasoning. "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. He added: "Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures." Parnell said the old assumption that two oceans protect the homeland is gone.
What FORTRESS covers. Fox lists portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids that let a base disconnect from the civilian grid. It also describes strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies, and at least two qualified supply or production paths for the military's most critical needs. The Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network would identify commercial factories that could shift to defense production in a crisis, with conversion terms settled in advance. The initiative also calls for industrial stress tests, mobilization exercises and plans to keep communications, navigation and satellite links working if GPS is jammed.
Why it matters. Parnell called FORTRESS an insurance policy for the homeland. Fox does not give a cost, a timeline for meeting the 90-day standard, or any response from Congress.
Note for readers: this is a "First on Fox" report built on documents and an interview with the Pentagon's spokesperson. We have not seen the documents ourselves, and no outside analyst is quoted on whether the goals are achievable.