Pentagon's FORTRESS Plan Would Require Major U.S. Bases to Run 90 Days Without Outside Support
The Pentagon is preparing U.S. military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days without outside support, in case a major war cripples power grids, disrupts supply chains and threatens critical infrastructure on American soil, Fox News Digital reported Sunday, citing documents it reviewed.
The requirement is part of FORTRESS, a broader initiative meant to ensure American forces can keep fighting even if the civilian systems they depend on are knocked out, according to the outlet.
What FORTRESS Requires
Under FORTRESS, every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations on its own for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel and communications, Fox News Digital reported.
"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 the outlet.
"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. He said President Donald Trump "understands that world is gone," pointing to Golden Dome, a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, Greenland and Panama.
The Pentagon has already announced plans to reduce major bases' dependence on civilian power grids, and the 90-day standard goes further by covering other essential services, Fox News Digital reported.
Power, Supply Chains and GPS
FORTRESS envisions portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids that could disconnect bases from the civilian electrical grid, according to Fox News Digital. "Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures," Parnell said. "Mission-critical power must be independent, hardened, and redundant."
The Pentagon is also laying the groundwork for civilian factories to shift to defense production in a crisis and preparing alternative supply chains and strategic reserves for weapons, fuel and other essential materials, the outlet reported. The plan also includes work to protect military communications, navigation and satellite systems from interference, including preparing to operate when GPS signals are jammed.
"You don't want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi-front conflict. We have to have a plan," Parnell said, describing FORTRESS as an insurance policy for the homeland.
Image: A tactical microgrid at Fort Dix, New Jersey (file photo), U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Porter, public domain.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Fox News Digital, "Inside the Pentagon's doomsday plan to keep America fighting if global war erupts" (Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/politics/inside-pentagons-doomsday-plan-keep-america-fighting-global-war-erupts
Comments