Partnership for Global Security (its president, Ken Luongo, March 13, 2026) argues the C-17 flight was political and public-relations 'cinema'; that what flew was a single non-operational, unfueled unit delivered in three pieces; that the Wall Street Journal reported Valar paid for the flights, roughly estimated at under $1 million (WSJ not read); that U.S. military aircraft had carried small reactors before, including two Russian TOPAZ-II space reactors flown by C-5 in 1992; that Valar is not part of any military reactor project (the Defense Department's Project Pele reactor is being built by BWXT); and, citing former DOE nuclear chief Katy Huff, that a cold zero-power test does not show hot, full-power performance. It also wrote that no power production would occur at the Utah site; Valar says, and Deseret News reported, that Ward 250 made electricity there on July 1, 2026 (orig-013, orig-042). MIT Technology Review (July 9, 2026) reports that four pilot reactors, Valar's among them, reached zero-power criticality by the July 4 deadline; that criticality and running a reactor that can make electricity are two different things; that startup timelines deserve caution; and that a Third Way memo called the federal push an 'unhelpful diversion'. Both are analysis, not findings by a regulator.

• A Hollywood Highlight Reel for the Nuclear Renaissance (Ken Luongo) (Partnership for Global Security, 2026-03-13) analysis “What was transported was a single, non-operational, and unfueled unit, delivered in three pieces.”
• Four nuclear reactors hit a big milestone in the US (The Spark newsletter) (MIT Technology Review, 2026-07-09) analysis “reaching criticality and running a reactor that can produce electricity are two totally different things”