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A strong Navy is a vital part of national security. Many of the most strategically important vessels in our fleet, including submarines and aircraft carriers, are nuclear powered. They have played a major role in every significant military action in which the United States has been involved for some 40 years. They are also essential to our nuclear deterrent. In short, our nuclear powered Navy is indispensable to our role as a world power.

To maintain readiness, the Navy must periodically refuel its nuclear vessels and remove the spent fuel. Currently, Navy spent fuel is stored in facilities operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. But this cannot continue indefinitely.

• The U.S. Navy
• U.S. Navy Fact File
• Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Naval Reactors Program
• Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory