Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

The Air Force contract to build more than 600 new commercial engines to power the aging, nuclear-capable B-52 bomber through the 2050s will run 17 years with six years of firm money, according to a solicitation released Tuesday.  The service’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program calls for 608 new commercial engines, plus additional spare engines and […]

The Air Force said Friday it completed the preliminary design review (PDR) for the Northrop Grumman-developed Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) in late April. The PDR took place April 28-30 and is the latest major programmatic milestone for the service to undertake virtually, including over classified computer networks, as many program personnel work limited hours or […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has decided it will not further extend the public comment period for an environmental review of the planned pit production plant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Last month, at the request of constituents organized by the Santa Fe advocacy organization Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Sens. […]

The Air Force probably will not award a contract to build next-generation, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles more than a month or two earlier than planned, the chief executive of presumptive prime Northrop Grumman said Wednesday morning during a conference call with investors. That would put the award around July or August. Northrop looks like a […]

The Air Force might deploy its Long-Range Standoff Weapon cruise missile earlier than anticipated, while the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile should be ready on time, the head of the service’s Global Strike Command said Wednesday. Raytheon will build the Long-Range Standoff missile (LRSO), while Northrop Grumman looks all but certain to win the contract […]

The Air Force might deploy its Long-Range Standoff Weapon cruise missile earlier than anticipated, while the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile should be ready on time, the head of the service’s Global Strike Command said Wednesday. Raytheon will build the Long-Range Standoff missile (LRSO), while Northrop Grumman looks all but certain to win […]

The Air Force probably will not award a contract to build more than 600 next-generation, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles more than a month or two earlier than planned, the chief executive of presumptive prime Northrop Grumman said Wednesday morning during a conference call with investors. That would put the award around July or August. Northrop […]

Air Force Selects Raytheon to Build Next-Gen Nuclear Weapon The Air Force plans to continue building its next nuclear cruise missile, the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), with Raytheon as the sole-source contractor, according to an April 17 release. The announcement arrives years ahead of an expected down-select. Both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been developing […]

The Air Force plans to continue building its next nuclear cruise missile, the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), with Raytheon [RTN] as the sole-source contractor, according to an April 17 release. The announcement arrives years ahead of an expected down-select. Both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been developing LRSO designs under technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase contracts, awarded […]

Naval Sea Systems Command on April 10 awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $56 million modification to manufacture another 18 missile tubes for the U.S. Columbia-class and U.K. Dreadnaught-class future ballistic missile submarines. The work on the joint U.S.-U.K. common missile compartment program is expected to be finished by May 2028. This modification was funded via U.K. […]

The Air Force expects to award a contract for its next-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles on schedule, if not earlier, Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Will Roper said Thursday Despite the service and contractors enacting new teleworking policies and other social distancing efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program […]

The president of General Dynamics Electric Boat has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus while the company confirmed further changes to the workforce configuration to limit the disease’s spread within its facilities. In an April 4 message to employees, Electric Boat President Kevin Graney disclosed he has tested positive for the pandemic virus, noting his […]

The president of General Dynamics Electric Boat has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus while the company confirmed further changes to the workforce configuration to limit the disease’s spread within its facilities. In an April 4 message to employees, Electric Boat President Kevin Graney disclosed he has tested positive for the pandemic virus, noting his […]

A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report update lays out how the COVID-19 pandemic could impact the Navy’s shipbuilding programs and noted what action Congress has taken in the past to mitigate other events. The report, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, was last updated March 27. It notes COVID-19 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Nevada have agreed in principle to settle a 2018 state lawsuit contesting the shipment of 500 kilograms of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site. “The parties are currently working diligently to finalize the necessary documents and to obtain final government settlement approvals,” attorneys for the state […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Nevada have agreed in principle to settle a 2018 state lawsuit contesting the shipment of 500 kilograms of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site. “The parties are currently working diligently to finalize the necessary documents and to obtain final government settlement approvals,” attorneys for the state […]

A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report update lays out how the COVID-19 pandemic could impact the Navy’s shipbuilding programs and noted what action Congress has taken in the past to mitigate other events. The report, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, was last updated March 27. It notes COVID-19 […]

A bipartisan group of over 100 lawmakers pushed House appropriators in a letter this week to fund a second Virginia-class submarine in the fiscal 2021 defense budget bill. Led by the chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee, Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the letter has a total of 112 signatures. […]

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told senators that industry is ready for and able to build two Virginia-class attack submarines in fiscal 2021, even though the administration’s budget request would fund only one. The Navy is under a Block V multiyear procurement contract that covers nine vessels with an option for a 10th. […]

Confirming what appeared intuitively obvious, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico will have to manufacture 80 nuclear-weapon cores a year by itself in 2030, if a planned facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina is not ready by then. Planned upgrades for Los Alamos’s […]

A facility planned for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico could produce more nuclear-warhead cores while generating less transuranic waste than the plutonium pit factory planned at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to environmental documents published this year by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The agency aims to manufacture […]

Confirming what appeared intuitively obvious, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico will have to manufacture 80 nuclear-weapon cores a year by itself in 2030, if a planned facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina is not ready by then. Planned upgrades for Los […]

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told senators on March 5 industry is ready for and able to build two Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs) in fiscal 2021, while the administration’s budget request funded only one. The Navy is under a Block V multiyear procurement contract that covers nine vessels with an option for a 10th. […]

WASHINGTON — Some new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missiles might be deployed into silos with warheads from their predecessor, the Minuteman III, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) official said here this week. The fleet of next-generation missiles will use about a 50-50 mix of old W87-0 warheads, used on Minuteman III today, […]

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has formally nominated Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown to become the Air Force’s next chief of staff. If confirmed, Brown would become the first African-American chief of staff for any of the U.S. military services. The Wall Street Journal first reported Brown’s impending nomination Monday, with a Defense Department release […]

WASHINGTON — Some new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missiles might be deployed into silos with warheads from their predecessor, the Minuteman III, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) official said here Wednesday. The fleet of next-generation missiles will use about a 50-50 mix of old W87-0 warheads, used on Minuteman III today, and […]

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has formally nominated Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown to become the Air Force’s next chief of staff. If confirmed, Brown would become the first African-American chief of staff for any of the U.S. military services. The Wall Street Journal first reported Brown’s impending nomination Monday, with a Defense Department release […]

In light of the nation’s focus on high-end threats and near-peer adversaries following release of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), the Air Force is taking a new look at its requirements, including the number of B-21 stealth bombers it will need, according to service officials. Will Roper, the Air Force’s head of acquisition and […]

Northrop Grumman tapped Bechtel National and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to provide construction services and specialized transportation equipment for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile production program the aerospace giant hopes to win this summer. Northrop Grumman is the only bidder for the estimated $25 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Pentagon plan deploy W87-0 warheads, without new plutonium pit cores, on some Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missiles missiles. The plan, confirmed Thursday through an NNSA spokesperson, could give the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapon agency more time to get a pair of planned pit factories up […]