Nuclear Waste Could Keep Drones Flying for Decades

The Pentagon is quietly betting that batteries made from nuclear waste could keep drones watching us for decades without ever landing.

Story Snapshot

DARPA’s “Rads to Watts” program is funding nuclear-waste batteries that turn radiation directly into electricity.
A Morgan State–led team is building a Strontium-90 power cell that could run drones and sensors for many years.
Supporters say this cuts costs and supply chains; critics warn of physics limits, safety risks, and deep regulatory hurdles.
The project feeds public fears of a government that watches citizens constantly while chasing flashy tech over basic needs.

DARPA’s nuclear-waste battery bet

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a program called “Rads to Watts” to turn nuclear radiation directly into electric power using solid-state devices called radiovoltaics. These devices do not burn fuel or spin turbines. Instead, they work more like solar panels, but they use particles from radioactive decay instead of light. DARPA’s public goal is bold: radiovoltaic systems that convert high-power nuclear radiation into kilowatts of electricity for long periods without human attention.

DARPA says it wants power sources for places where normal fuel supply chains do not exist, such as deep space, remote battlefields, and other extreme environments. The agency is pushing teams to move beyond past low-power nuclear batteries that only produced milliwatts and instead reach meaningful power densities, measured in watts per kilogram of device weight. This fits DARPA’s broader pattern: chase high-risk, high-payoff technology that could reshape military power, even if the science is not yet fully proven.

Morgan State’s Strontium-90 drone power cell

A team led by Morgan State University has won a $3.37 million DARPA contract to build a next-generation nuclear micro-power system under Rads to Watts. The project, called SYMPHONEE, aims to use radioisotopes like Strontium-90 to generate electricity through ultra-thin semiconductor layers. Strontium-90 is a nuclear waste product from reactors and weapons, and it emits high-energy beta particles that can be converted to electric current in a radiovoltaic cell. The system is designed to operate for decades without refueling, using recycled nuclear waste as fuel.

The Morgan State team, working with Northrop Grumman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Project Omega, describes targets of “long-duration, maintenance-free power” for space systems, remote sensing gear, undersea infrastructure, and defense platforms. Early modeling, they say, suggests they can meet or even beat DARPA’s figures of merit for power density and energy per kilogram. Public reporting has linked these goals to persistent drones and sensor networks that could stay aloft or hidden for many years, powered by trickle charging rather than big bursts.

Why this raises red flags across the political spectrum

For many Americans, the idea of drones powered by nuclear waste touches a deep fear: a government that invests more in watching people than in serving them. Conservatives who already resent “deep state” power see decades-long surveillance drones as one more tool that can track citizens, farmers, and small towns while Washington ignores borders, debt, and everyday costs of living. Liberals angered by “America First” policies worry about powerful tools used in secret wars and policing, with little transparency or debate.

Both groups share a core concern: nuclear-waste batteries promise constant eyes in the sky with almost no human oversight. Unlike today’s drones, which must land for fuel and maintenance, a drone with a radiovoltaic battery might circle a city or border for years. That would let agencies collect video, phone signals, or other data nonstop. In an era when many already distrust intelligence agencies and law enforcement, a new power source that removes natural limits on surveillance feels less like progress and more like a permanent watchtower.

Scientific hurdles and media hype

Nuclear battery experts point out that most existing radiovoltaic devices only deliver milliwatt-level power, far below DARPA’s kilowatt-scale vision. Popular science videos on nuclear “diamond batteries” note that a gram of the isotope carbon-14 produces about 15 microwatts of power, meaning a single smartphone would need over 100 kilograms of material. That simple math fuels doubts that any solid-state nuclear battery can reach the 10 watts per kilogram power levels DARPA wants for serious drone use.

Another issue is damage from radiation itself. Alpha and beta particles can knock atoms out of position in semiconductor materials, creating defects that slowly kill the device. DARPA’s own program description admits that radiation-induced defects are a major challenge that degrades both performance and lifespan in current radiovoltaics, especially at higher power levels. The Morgan State team and others claim they will solve this with new materials and nano-scale designs, but they have not yet shared public test data proving long-term stability.

Safety, regulation, and who bears the risk

Turning nuclear waste into batteries raises hard safety questions. Supporters say Strontium-90 cells can be sealed and are safer than older Plutonium-238 devices used in space probes, especially if they stay in military hands. But any crash, theft, or misuse could spread radioactive material, and local communities would be the ones living with that risk. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires strict containment and licensing for radioactive sources, and no similar batteries have yet been cleared for broad public use.

DARPA program to make 30 yr batteries for drones from nuclear waste | Lauren C Williams, Defense One

These light-weight power cells run on nuclear waste and could power next-gen drones

DARPA program aims to create a 30-year battery minimally viable prototype by early 2027.

How… pic.twitter.com/uhTRfRPocP

— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) July 7, 2026

Regulation also touches a deeper worry about elites and accountability. Big defense contractors and agencies like DARPA can push cutting-edge nuclear technologies under national security rules, which often limit public debate. Farmers, workers, and parents living under possible flight paths do not get equal say in whether long-lived nuclear drones patrol their skies. Many on both the right and the left see this as another example of powerful institutions moving fast with risky tech while everyday people are expected to simply trust them.

What to watch next

Key facts are still missing. DARPA’s public pages do not confirm a specific “30-year continuous operation” number for any battery or name Strontium-90 as the official drone isotope, even though contractors and media reports make that link. The program itself notes that performance limits for high-power radiovoltaics are not yet known, which means today’s claims are best seen as ambitious goals rather than proven realities. Until independent labs publish peer-reviewed data, power density and lifetime numbers should be treated with caution, not blind faith.

For citizens across the political map, this story is not only about science. It is about priorities and trust. If nuclear waste can be turned into safe, steady power, that might someday help remote towns, disaster zones, or vital infrastructure. But if the first and main use is decades-long surveillance drones, many will see that as clear proof that the federal government serves itself first. Watching how DARPA, Congress, and regulators handle this program will show whether nuclear-waste batteries become tools for the public good or yet another symbol of a system that listens more to defense contractors than to the people it is supposed to protect.