Pantex

The U.S. Department of Energy said last week it is ahead of schedule in removing 1 metric ton of plutonium from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and should finish the court-mandated process by the end of the year. The Energy Department update was seemingly prompted by a March 1 letter that South Carolina […]

The state of South Carolina has no better idea than anyone else outside the National Nuclear Security Administration  (NNSA) about whether the agency has yet shipped 500 kilograms of weapon-usable plutonium to the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, according to a recent court filing. In December 2017, a federal judge in South Carolina ordered the […]

An increased risk of radioactive contamination combined with the flouting of federal environmental laws should have persuaded a federal judge to block the Department of Energy from sending weapon-usable plutonium to Nevada, the Silver State told an appeals court this week. Nevada wants the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California to overturn U.S. District […]

The state of South Carolina has no better idea than anyone else outside the National Nuclear Security Administration  (NNSA) about whether the agency has yet shipped 500 kilograms of weapon-usable plutonium to the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, according to a recent court filing. In December 2017, a federal judge in South Carolina ordered the […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) finalized its first safety recommendation to the Donald Trump administration’s Department of Energy, urging the agency to improve the safety of nuclear explosives handling at the Pantex weapons assembly plant in Amarillo, Texas, documents published Tuesday show. In the recommendation, the independent federal board zeroed in on equipment and processes […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) finalized its first safety recommendation to the Donald Trump administration’s Department of Energy, urging the agency to improve the safety of nuclear explosives handling at the Pantex weapons assembly plant in Amarillo, Texas, documents published Tuesday show. In the recommendation, the independent federal board zeroed in on equipment and processes […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday that it has certified its first new low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead as battle ready. In a late-afternoon press release, the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency said it “successfully completed the First Production Unit (FPU) of the W76-2 warhead Feb. 22 at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.” […]

Leidos on Tuesday posted higher sales and earnings due to top line growth across its business segments and higher operating income in its Health and Civil segments. Net income increased 65 percent to $188 million, $1.25 earnings per share (EPS), from $114 million (74 cents EPS) a year ago. The strong earnings were driven by […]

ARLINGTON, Va. —The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in January completed its first low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic-missile warhead, which now awaits a final design review in Texas before the agency can ship it to the Navy, an agency official said here Tuesday. The NNSA assembled the first W76-2 warhead, a modified version of the recently refurbished […]

ARLINGTON, Va. —The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in January completed its first low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic-missile warhead, which now awaits a final design review in Texas before the agency can ship it to the Navy, an agency official said here Tuesday. Production of the W76-2 warhead, a modified version of the recently refurbished W76-1, is conducted […]

The Amarillo Metal Trade Council, a group comprising 10 local unions representing some 1,200 employees at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, has ratified a new five-year labor agreement with plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, labor and management announced on social media. The Metal Trades Council announced the ratification Monday on its Facebook page. Consolidated […]

The prime contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Y-12 and Pantex sites spent about $30 million from 2016 to 2018 to create consolidated business information systems it says will save the government nearly $3 billion over the life of a 10-year site management contract, accpording to the Government Accountability Office. That is less than […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) “before November 2018” moved roughly half a ton of weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site from the Savannah River Site, in Aiken, S.C., the agency said Wednesday in a bombshell court filing. The plutonium is part of a 1-metric-ton cache a federal judge in South Carolina ordered […]

Even if Nevada succeeds in blocking a shipment of 1 metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium to a former nuclear explosive test site within its borders, the material could still leave South Carolina by a court-ordered deadline, the Silver State argued in federal court this week. The filing represents Nevada’s attempt to muscle South Carolina out […]

A federal appeals court’s October order to remove 1 metric ton of plutonium from South Carolina by Jan. 1, 2020, took effect this week, depriving the Department of Energy of some legal wiggle room to contest the directive. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., gave notice Tuesday that its October ruling was, […]

Texas A&M University said it will partner with Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) on workforce and technology development programs at the Pantex nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant in Amarillo, Texas. The partnership, founded under a February memorandum of understanding between CNS and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), will be based at Pantex’s new John […]

Nevada on Friday asked a federal judge to bar the Department of Energy (DOE) from shipping 1 metric ton of plutonium to the state, potentially throwing a wrench in the agency’s plans to comply with an order from another federal judge to move the material out of South Carolina by Jan. 1, 2020. Nevada sued […]

Texas A&M University said Friday it will partner with Consolidated Nuclear Security on workforce and technology development programs at the Pantex weapons assembly plant in Amarillo, Texas. The partnership, founded under a February memorandum of understanding with the University’s Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), will be based at Pantex’s new John C. Drummond Center, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says it has deployed a system at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico that can “detect, identify, track and intercept unsanctioned and suspicious drones.” The Department of Energy agency announced the news in a press release Nov. 19, shortly before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The NNSA did […]

The Department of Energy and contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security lacked plans to deal with a small number of plausible hazards that could lead, among other things, to an inadvertent nuclear detonation at the nation’s prime nuclear-weapon assembly and disassembly site, according to a draft report the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) report made public […]

The internal emergency response organization at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, responded Tuesday to what the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) described as a “security event" involving an ultimately harmless parked car. “Just before noon on October 23, a routine inspection at Pantex identified a potential concern with a vehicle in the John C. […]

The internal emergency response organization at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, responded Tuesday to what the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) described as a “security event" involving an ultimately harmless parked car. “Just before noon on October 23, a routine inspection at Pantex identified a potential concern with a vehicle in the John C. […]

Bechtel National (BNI) is under new federal restrictions on issuing subcontracts and making large purchases in the wake of a routine audit of its purchasing systems by the Pentagon’s Defense Contract Management Agency. On July 20, Bechtel issued an internal “Procurement & Subcontracts Compliance Bulletin” with the subject head “Disapproval of BNI Purchasing System” for […]

As House and Senate lawmakers this week debate whether to tighten congressional scrutiny of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) weapons production contract, the agency is pressing ahead on all cylinders with the deal, which was extended for two years just this spring. The Senate’s 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, passed in June, mandates that […]

As House and Senate lawmakers this week debate whether to tighten congressional scrutiny of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) weapons production contract, the agency is pressing ahead on all cylinders with the deal, which was extended for two years just this spring. The Senate’s 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, passed in June, mandates that […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday evening approved the acquisition by Northrop Grumman [NOC] of Orbital ATK [OA] contingent on Northrop Grumman agreeing to operate its new solid rocket motor (SRM) business independently to avoid anticompetitive behavior. Northrop Grumman on Wednesday afternoon after the close of stock markets on the East Coast completed its $7.8 billion transaction for […]

Parts of the Pantex Plant, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s main nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility, are expected to shut down today as part of an emergency drill, the contractor running the site announced. Personnel across the Amarillo, Texas, site will participate in the exercise, Pantex prime Consolidated Nuclear Security said in a press release […]

Laying out the annual weapons budget for some of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) major sites over the last decade yields little in the way of surprise: generally, the weapons budget is going up. Source: DOE Congressional Budget Requests (Laboratory Tables). Link: Interactive Version of Chart. Figuratively speaking, these trends were written on […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday formally opened a new building to house a host of administrative and support functions at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) attended a ribbon-cutting for the John C. Drummond Center, named for the longest-serving manager for the nuclear-weapon […]

The European Commission has approved Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] pending $7.8 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK [OA], moving the deal one step closer to completion. Northrop Grumman said it is still awaiting the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to complete its review of the deal, which was announced last September. The company expects the acquisition to close in the first […]