This Executive Order Opened Military Bases to Hyperscale Data Centers

The U.S. military is opening underutilized land on active bases to private companies for the construction of massive commercial data centers. The move forms part of a broader federal push to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure while generating revenue and securing computing capacity for defense needs. What began as policy directives in 2025 has produced concrete conditional agreements in 2026, drawing both support for modernization and bipartisan scrutiny over resource demands and long-term risks.

Policy Framework and Executive Orders

On July 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14318, titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure.” The order prioritizes rapid buildout of large AI data centers and related energy infrastructure. It defines Qualifying Projects as those requiring more than 100 megawatts of new electric load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation, or synthetic data generation, or those involving at least 500 million dollars in capital expenditures, or those designated as protecting national security. Among its directives, the order instructs the Secretary of Defense to identify suitable sites on military installations and competitively lease available lands for such projects to support Department of Defense energy, workforce, and mission needs, subject to security and force protection considerations. The order also streamlines environmental reviews and permitting processes.

An earlier measure, Executive Order 14299 signed May 23, 2025, directed the Secretary of Energy to initiate designation of certain AI data centers located at or coordinated with Department of Energy facilities as critical defense facilities, with associated electrical infrastructure treated as defense critical electric infrastructure. Together the orders created a framework for private development on federal land while elevating the national security status of select facilities.

Army Leads with Conditional Agreements

The Army moved first into implementation. On March 26, 2026, the service announced it had conditionally selected two private entities to enter exclusive negotiations for commercial hyperscale data centers under its Enhanced Use Lease authority, authorized by Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 2667. This authority allows military departments to lease non-excess property to private partners in exchange for cash, in-kind consideration, or both, typically at fair market value. The selected partners bear full responsibility for financing, design, permitting, construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning.

Global investment firm Carlyle was chosen for a project covering approximately 1,384 acres at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Data center operator CyrusOne, a portfolio company jointly held by funds managed by KKR and BlackRock, was selected for approximately 1,201 acres at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Army officials stated the projects would proceed at no upfront cost to taxpayers. Initial operating capability is projected for fiscal year 2027 at Fort Bliss and fiscal year 2029 at Dugway. Reports place the estimated cost of each facility near 2 billion dollars. In exchange for the long-term leases, which solicitations indicated could run as long as 50 years, the Army is expected to receive a dedicated portion of the computing capacity for its own artificial intelligence applications.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll described artificial intelligence as a strategic asset and force multiplier that supports transformation, keeps the force ahead of adversaries, and generates resiliency. David Fitzgerald, then performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of the Army, framed the partnerships as investments that bolster national security and drive technological innovation while modernizing Army installations.

Additional Sites Across the Services

Other Army sites were considered in the same solicitation process that opened in early 2026, including Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Beyond the Army, the Department of the Air Force has offered parcels on multiple installations. In 2025 the service identified land at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee, Edwards Air Force Base in California, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, and Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. In April 2026 it expanded outreach to roughly 4,700 acres across Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base, and Clear Space Force Station in Alaska, with twelve parcels identified for potential development.

Stated Benefits and Motivations

Supporters present the arrangement as a pragmatic use of underutilized real estate that brings private capital, jobs, and advanced computing resources onto secure federal property. Fort Bliss officials noted the potential for roughly 2,000 jobs and billions in private investment in the El Paso region, with designs intended to incorporate behind-the-meter power and water solutions to limit strain on local infrastructure. The secure perimeter of military installations offers physical protection that commercial sites lack, while the Army gains preferential access to high-density computing for emerging AI-enabled systems.

Concerns and Congressional Oversight

Critics and members of Congress have raised concerns about scale and consequences. Data centers of this magnitude consume enormous quantities of electricity and water for cooling. Local reporting on the Fort Bliss proposal noted that the facility could require more power than the combined demand of El Paso’s approximately 460,000 electricity customers. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned whether the projects will affect military readiness, base utility systems, or surrounding communities. In the House version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, Representative John Garamendi of California proposed language requiring detailed certification of military operational use and risk assessments before any new agreements. Representative Cory Mills of Florida secured a provision restricting the use of certain components manufactured by adversarial nations in data centers on military installations. Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan introduced broader language seeking to prohibit AI data centers on federal lands, though that measure did not advance in the same form.

Current Status and Outlook

As of late July 2026 the Fort Bliss and Dugway agreements remain conditional, pending final lease negotiations and environmental reviews conducted with Army Corps of Engineers involvement. No other projects have advanced to the same stage. The dual commercial-military character of the facilities creates ongoing questions about workload segregation, cybersecurity standards, and whether shared infrastructure could complicate future operational decisions.

The policy reflects a deliberate choice to treat large-scale data centers as strategic assets rather than purely commercial real estate. By placing private hyperscale facilities inside the perimeter of military installations, the government gains computing capacity and revenue while private capital gains access to secure land and long-term leases. Whether the model scales beyond the initial sites, and whether the resource and security trade-offs prove manageable, will become clearer as the first facilities move toward initial operating capability in 2027.

References

Executive Order 14318, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, signed July 23, 2025.

Executive Order 14299, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, signed May 23, 2025.

U.S. Army announcement on conditional selection of Carlyle and CyrusOne for data centers at Fort Bliss and Dugway Proving Ground, March 26, 2026.

Army Enhanced Use Lease authority under Title 10 U.S. Code Section 2667.

Reporting on projected initial operating capability dates and acreage figures from Army statements and contemporaneous coverage, March and April 2026.

Department of the Air Force requests for lease proposals covering installations in the continental United States (2025) and Alaska (April 2026).

Congressional proposals and amendments related to data centers on military land during consideration of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, June and July 2026.