Ward 250 flown unfueled from March ARB, Calif., to Hill AFB, Utah, on three C-17s (Operation Windlord)

World Nuclear News (Feb 18, 2026) reports the Ward 250 reactor, without its nuclear fuel, was loaded onto a C-17 at March Air Reserve Base in California on February 15, 2026 (Stars and Stripes reports three C-17s carried the modules) and flown to Hill Air Force Base, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Under Secretary Michael Duffey aboard, for later transfer to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab. WNN, citing Reuters, says Wright stated fuel would move separately from the Nevada National Security Site. ExecutiveGov describes the same flight as a DOW-DOE partnership. This shows the reactor hardware was in Southern California before it moved to Utah; Valar's June 2026 draft says it was tested at its Hawthorne headquarters (orig-059).

• US microreactor transported by air (World Nuclear News, 2026-02-18) news “The 5 MW Ward250 reactor - without its nuclear fuel - was loaded”
• DOW, DOE Partner With Valar Atomics for Transport of 5-Megawatt Nuclear Reactor to Utah (ExecutiveGov, 2026-02-18) news
• Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft airlift nuclear reactor in a first-of-its-kind mission (Stars and Stripes, 2026-02-17) news “The modules of the reactor were loaded aboard three C-17 Globemaster III aircraft”
• Emery County Commission Meeting Minutes, February 17, 2026 (Emery County Commission (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-02-17) primary government “traveled by tractor trailer in a convoy to Emery County”