Stockpile Stewardship

The National Nuclear Security Administration has released the latest update to its Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, outlining a plan that it says balances near- and long-term stockpile, infrastructure and science and technology needs—as long as Congress provides necessary funding for the program. “NNSA has great confidence in its ability to execute the program described […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The U.S. currently possesses about 7,100 total nuclear warheads, including 2,340 retired and under Department of Energy custody, about 2,080 deployed and about 2,680 in storage, according to a report recently released by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). “At the beginning of 2015, the U.S. Defense Department maintained a […]

NNSA, Livermore Moving Forward With Pu Shots on NIF Despite Activist Objections NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration is not backing off a plan to use plutonium in shots at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility despite a last-minute appeal by activist groups to postpone the experiments. The first shots on the […]

A pair of activist groups are asking the Department of Energy to hold off on using plutonium in shots at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility. The shots involving plutonium could begin as early as today, but Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs and the Natural Resources Defense Council called on shots involving plutonium to be halted […]

Activist Groups Ramp Up Opposition to NIF Plutonium Shots NS&D Monitor 1/9/2015 Members of an anti-nuclear activist group met with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory officials this week about plans to use small amounts of plutonium in experiments at the National Ignition Facility after ramping up their opposition to the plans in a Jan. 6 protest. […]

Members of an anti-nuclear activist group will meet with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory officials today about plans to use small amounts of plutonium in experiments at the National Ignition Facility after ramping up their opposition to the plans yesterday. About a dozen members of Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs and the Catholic Worker Farm protested the plans […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory is still facing issues in meeting its hydrodynamic test schedule, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said Friday in a report that suggests National Nuclear Security Administration life extension work could be impacted. The IG said 12 out of 19 planned hydrodynamic  tests from Fiscal Years 2010 to 2013 were delayed […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/19/2014 Plutonium shots at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility are expected to take place for the first time in January as the National Nuclear Security Administration takes another—somewhat controversial—step on the massive experimental laser system. NNSA weapons program chief Don Cook told Congress last week that the plutonium shots […]

Lab Completes Flight, Drop Tests on W88 Nuclear Warhead NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed flight and drop tests for a new variation of the W88 nuclear warhead, the lab said this week. The flight and drop tests for the W88 ALT 370 were conducted to validate designs, improve computer modeling and […]

Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed flight and drop tests for a new variation of the W88 nuclear warhead, the lab said yesterday. The flight and drop tests for the W88 ALT 370 were conducted to validate designs, improve computer modeling and update component specifications, the lab said. The Critical Radar Arming and Fuzing Test […]

Sandia National Laboratories official Mark Hermann will take over as the new director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility Oct. 6, Principal Associate Director for NIF and Photon Science Jeff Wisoff said in a memo yesterday obtained by NS&D Monitor. Hermann has served as the director of Sandia’s Pulsed Power Sciences Center, senior […]

‘Leda’ Hydrodynamic Experiment Conducted Successfully NS&D Monitor 9/12/2014 Los Alamos National Laboratory recently completed a successful hydrodynamic experiment at the Nevada National Security Site, with scientists involved in the experiment reporting that the test had produced a significant amount of data that will aid the Stockpile Stewardship Program. The test, nicknamed “Leda,” was conducted Aug. […]

Lab, Former NIF Director Ed Moses, Part Ways NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and former National Ignition Facility Director Ed Moses are officially parting ways, with Moses accepting a job as the president of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization. Moses was the director of NIF through its conception, construction and early operations, serving […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 7/11/2014 Obama Administration officials emphasized the importance of innovations and new technologies in stockpile stewardship and nonproliferation at a State Department conference held in Washington this week. National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz stressed that the national laboratories play a key role in developing those technologies, speaking at the fifth […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories recently com-pleted the first full-system mechanical environment test ona refurbished B61 nuclear bomb, marking a key milestone in the life extension program for the weapons system, the National Nuclear Security Administration said this week. The test is the first in a series of environmental […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The size of the United States’ active nuclear arsenal has remained stable for the last year, according to a recent assessment published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that estimates about 4,650 nuclear warheads remain in the active stockpile of the U.S. Another 2,700 warheads are retired and awaiting dismantlement, […]

LAB COMPLETES B61-11 SURVEILLANCE TEST NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Sandia National Laboratories successfully completed an impact test of a B61-11 earth penetrator in late November, a key milestone for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s enhanced surveillance program. The test involved pulling a randomly chosen weapon from the stockpile, replacing its nuclear package with an inert dummy, […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/6/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is seeking more information about a National Nuclear Security Administration analysis of the effects of trips and falls on special tooling used in nuclear explosive operations at the Pantex Plant. In a June 2 letter to NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur […]

A new report by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability that will be formally unveiled today calls for a massive change to U.S. nuclear modernization plans, again recommending a “curatorship” approach that would halt current life extension efforts. “Rather than introduce uncertainty into the stockpile through unnecessary Life Extension Programs, NNSA should maintain the currently reliable […]

The United States had 4,804 nuclear weapons in its active deployed stockpile as of September of last year, having trimmed 309 weapons from the last time it declassified the size of its nuclear arsenal in 2010. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller made the announcement during remarks at the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration unveiled its Fiscal Year 2015 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan late Friday afternoon, revealing updated costs figures for the agency’s rebalanced “3+2” warhead modernization strategy. The NNSA delayed work on the first interoperable warhead, cruise missile warhead and the First Production Units for the B61 refurbishment and W88 Alteration 370 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration hasn’t adequately maintained design information for the warheads and nuclear components in its nuclear stockpile, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report that suggests the missing information raises questions about the credibility of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. “CM [Configuration management] information is the foundation upon which the NNSA […]

Seventeen lawmakers—all but one from California—late last week urged President Obama to provide “strong and sustained” funding for the National Ignition Facility and inertial confinement fusion activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In a letter to President Obama Friday, the lawmakers, led by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), noted recent advancements at […]

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore’s National Ignition Facility have reached a major milestone in the quest for ignition, achieving a fuel gain greater than 1 for the first time. The achievement was detailed in the Feb. 12 issue of the journal Nature, explaining that the yield performance during a recent series of experiments has shown an […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/18/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration unveiled its Fiscal Year 2015 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan late last week, revealing updated costs figures for the agency’s rebalanced “3+2” warhead modernization strategy. The NNSA delayed work on the first interoperable warhead, cruise missile warhead and the First Production Units for the B61 […]

Retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch, the former commander of Strategic Air Command and former Air Force Chief of Staff, was awarded yesterday with the second annual Johnny Foster Award by ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums. Welch retired from the Air Force 24 years ago, but has been a fixture in the nuclear sector ever since, […]

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore’s National Ignition Facility have reached a major milestone in the quest for ignition, achieving a fuel gain greater than 1 for the first time. The achievement was detailed in the Feb. 12 issue of the journal Nature, explaining that the yield performance during a recent series of experiments has shown an […]

Seventeen lawmakers—all but one from California—late last week urged President Obama to provide “strong and sustained” funding for the National Ignition Facility and inertial confinement fusion activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In a letter to President Obama Friday, the lawmakers, led by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), noted recent advancements at […]

Officials at the National Ignition Facility took a small step forward in their quest to achieve fusion ignition at the facility earlier this month when the massive laser eclipsed its previous record for neutron yield in cryogenic implosions threefold. More importantly, however, the experiment accurately matched predictions by computer simulation tools, representing a milestone on […]

With Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility set to run out of funding next month, the Department of Energy says it will need to reprogram $138 million to compensate for higher overhead rates that are being charged to the facility. In a reprogramming request sent to House and Senate authorizers and appropriators last week, […]