Defense & Military

The commander of U.S. nuclear forces, who met with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) transition team recently, worried this week that the civilian nuclear weapons complex faces problems bigger than a potential slip in plutonium-pit production. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act passed into law this month over President Donald Trump’s veto, U.S. Strategic Command […]

The commander of U.S. nuclear forces, who met with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) transition team recently, worried Monday that the civilian nuclear weapons complex faces problems bigger than a potential slip in plutonium-pit production. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act passed into law this month over President Donald Trump’s veto, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) […]

A little over a month after the secretary of energy demanded her resignation as head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Donald Trump administration welcomed Lisa Gordon-Hagerty back into the fold, appointing her to a Pentagon advisory board. The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that Gordon-Hagerty will join its Defense Policy Board, potentially giving […]

A little over a month after the secretary of energy demanded her resignation as head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Donald Trump administration welcomed Lisa Gordon-Hagerty back into the fold, appointing her to a Pentagon advisory board. The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that Gordon-Hagerty will join its Defense Policy Board, potentially giving […]

A version of the fiery interagency and inter-branch tug of war that produced this year’s controversial civilian nuclear weapons budget would be essentially legalized, if a compromise 2021 defense authorization bill unveiled Thursday becomes law. The unified 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which lameduck President Donald Trump has threatened to veto over matters unrelated […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed design work to separate the north and south ends of the SM-1A deactivated nuclear plant at Fort Greely in Alaska, an incremental step required before starting decommissioning of the site. Next on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) radar for the impending SM-1A decommissioning effort is […]

If Joe Biden wins the White House in the Nov. 3 election, his administration will consider backing off the U.S. nuclear buildup set in place by the Obama administration in 2016, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee predicted Thursday. “China’s philosophy has been very simple: we’re going to build a reliable nuclear arsenal […]

This week, top U.S. officials in Washington warned against cutting the U.S. nuclear arsenal or agreeing to extend a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia without assurances that Moscow’s promised warhead freeze would actually happen. “[E]ach piece of our triad is essential, but they’re also complimentary,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said […]

On Wednesday, top U.S. officials in Washington warned against cutting the U.S. nuclear arsenal or agreeing to extend a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia without assurances that Moscow’s promised warhead freeze would actually happen. “[E]ach piece of our triad is essential, but they’re also complimentary,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said […]

A nuclear brain-drain in the military has shown signs of reversing course in the decade-plus since the mistaken delivery of nuclear-armed cruise missiles to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, the head of the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research said Monday. “My sense of it is that that bottomed out,” Brad […]

A nuclear brain-drain in the military has shown signs of reversing course in the decade-plus since the mistaken delivery of nuclear-armed cruise missiles to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, the head of the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research said Monday. “My sense of it is that that bottomed out,” Brad […]

The Air Force’s program to acquire a new fleet of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which fast became a one-horse race that Northrop Grumman won, is a model for the sort of procurement ethos that will help the U.S. acquire new weapons as fast as China, the commander of U.S. nuclear forces said Monday. “China can […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee is calling in the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, and the undersecretary of defense in charge of nuclear weapons procurement for a very-late-in-the-season hearing on the civilian weapons agency’s budget. The hearing, “Matters Relating to the Budget of the National Nuclear Security […]

As expected, the Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to build the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the next generation of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, under a nine-year contract worth $13.3 billion. The Air Force announced the new contract late Monday. Northrop’s stock got a boost Wednesday after the news, but the per-share price has since slid […]

The Air Force’s award on Tuesday to Northrop Grumman [NOC] of a contract for the next-generation ICBM system for the Air Force has given teammate L3Harris Technologies [LHX] an entrée into the service’s training market for global strike systems, L3Harris said on Wednesday. L3Harris said it will do system and software design for at least eight training systems, building […]

As expected, the Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to build the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the next generation of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, under a nine-year contract worth $13.3 billion over nine years.  The Air Force announced the new contract late Monday. Last year, the service ballparked the award at around $25 billion. […]

The Pentagon is keeping a close eye on nuclear weapons life-extension programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic, but to date there have been no signs of any delays, a senior Defense Department official said Wednesday. “I don’t believe that there have been any COVID-related implications to the life-extension programs,” Robert […]

Nobody is planning to put a hypersonic glide vehicle on the next U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile, but that doesn’t mean it could never happen, according to careful statements Wednesday by the Air Force general who advises the service’s leadership about nuclear weapons. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), silo-based missiles slated to replace the Minuteman III […]

Air Force and Navy service members aboard an airplane on Tuesday remotely launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with three unarmed warheads from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. “A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Navy sailors launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with three test […]

Air Force and Navy service members aboard an airplane on Tuesday remotely launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with three unarmed warheads from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. “A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Navy sailors launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with three test […]

A new report from the Government Accountability Office covered some old ground last week: the bigger budget the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says it needs to keep planned programs and programs of record on track could eat other defense programs’ lunch. “Such an increase may require cuts in other national defense programs to keep […]

Raytheon Technologies on Tuesday said it swung to a loss in the second quarter largely due to a slump in commercial aerospace triggered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s defense businesses performed well. The commercial outlook remains weak and the company has achieved its cost savings synergies for the year. Sales in the quarter […]

General Dynamics on Wednesday posted lower earnings and sales in its second quarter on continued weakness in its Aerospace segment and an overall decline in its government and defense businesses due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Net income fell 23% to $625 million, $2.18 earnings per share (EPS), from $806 million ($2.77 EPS), three […]

Boeing on Wednesday reported a loss in its second quarter, but not quite as bad as a year ago, as sales fell sharply on fewer commercial aircraft deliveries due to continued weakness in the 737 MAX passenger jet program, temporary shutdowns of some facilities in the spring, and the ongoing impacts to airlines from the […]

As part of a package of spending bills set to hit the floor late this week, the House of Representatives will debate the merits of temporarily freezing the Pentagon out of internal Department of Energy nuclear-weapon budget debates. The debate will take about 10 minutes of floor time, which the House Rules Committee granted in […]

Lockheed Martin on Tuesday posted double-digit percentage gains to its top and bottom lines in the second quarter, driven by strong operating results across its business segments. The company raised guidance for sales, earnings and cash for 2020. Lockheed Martin was able to shrug off negative impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which it said […]

The House and Senate approved their respective versions of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act with bipartisan votes this week, supporting the Trump administration’s requested funding for nuclear-weapon operations at the Department of Energy. However, President Donald Trump threatened to veto the measure over provisions including production of plutonium warhead cores and removing Confederate iconography […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 86-14 to pass its $740.5-billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021, which now faces a conference committee to iron out differences between it and the House version of the defense policy bill passed earlier this week. The NDAA crafted by the Senate Armed Services Committee would put a […]

Lockheed Martin on Tuesday posted double-digit percentage gains to its top and bottom lines in the second quarter, driven by strong operating results across its business segments. The company raised guidance for sales, earnings and cash for 2020. Lockheed Martin was able to shrug off negative impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which it said […]

The House approved its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act with a bipartisan vote Tuesday, supporting the Trump administration’s requested funding for nuclear-weapon operations at the Department of Energy. However, President Donald Trump threatened to veto the measure, over provisions including production of plutonium warhead cores and removing Confederate iconography from government property. The vote […]