Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

WASHINGTON — The United States does not need intercontinental ballistic missiles to prevent a nuclear attack on its territory, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a hearing here Wednesday — but a couple rank-and-file Democrats disagreed. “The problem with them is that they’re identifiable targets,” Smith said of ICBMs from the […]

The leader of U.S. Strategic Command is seeking collaboration with industry to ensure the U.S. military’s next nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) enterprise is properly hardened against cyber attacks. Air Force Gen. John Hyten has spent the last six months investigating the issue and visiting industry partners and federally funded research development corporations to […]

WASHINGTON — A Navy admiral and the head of U.S. Strategic Command sent conflicting signals in Washington on Tuesday about whether a botched welding job on long-lead parts of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine could spell delay for the Navy’s top procurement. BWX Technologies, which reported record earnings this week on early work as a […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has certified its first new low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead as battle ready. In a Monday 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.” The W76-2 warhead is […]

The leader of U.S. Strategic Command is seeking collaboration with industry to ensure the U.S. military’s next nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) enterprise is properly hardened against cyber attacks. Air Force Gen. John Hyten has spent the last six months investigating the issue and visiting industry partners and federally funded research development corporations to […]

WASHINGTON — A Navy admiral and the head of U.S. Strategic Command sent conflicting signals in Washington on Tuesday about whether a botched welding job on long-lead parts of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine could spell delay for the Navy’s top procurement. BWX Technologies, which reported record earnings this week on early work as a […]

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.” […]

The Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DOD OIG) plans to evaluate 11 separate efforts related to space, nuclear deterrence and missile defense in fiscal year 2019, including whether the Air Force properly certified SpaceX for military launch missions. The DOD OIG released its fiscal year 2019 oversight plan last December with little fanfare, where […]

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. — It could take a decade to build the low-yield, nuclear-tipped, sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM) demanded by the Donald Trump administration, and development might not start until the Pentagon finishes a separate nuclear missile, a senior Defense Department official said here Thursday. The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review called on the Departments of Defense and Energy […]

The Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DOD OIG) plans to evaluate 11 separate efforts related to space, nuclear deterrence and missile defense in fiscal year 2019, including whether the Air Force properly certified SpaceX for military launch missions. The DOD OIG released its fiscal year 2019 oversight plan last December with little fanfare, where […]

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 […]

By Cal Biesecker Defense Daily General Dynamics, the Pentagon’s contractor for the next-generation ballistic-missile submarine, on Wednesday posted a strong finish to its fiscal year, delivering big gains in earnings and sales in the fourth quarter, aided in part by lower taxes and an acquisition last year. Net income in the quarter soared 43 percent to […]

Boeing, a central player on the Pentagon side of the current U.S. nuclear arsenal modernization, broke its own sales and earnings records for the year and quarter ended Dec. 31, the Chicago-based defense prime said Wednesday. Among other things, Boeing is working on designs for next-generation nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and production of a tail […]

By Richard Abott Defense Daily Lockheed Martin on Jan. 30 won a $560 million modification to produce Trident II (D5) missiles for the U.S. and U.K. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs awarded this as a cost-plus-incentive-fee modification for Trident II missile production and deployed system support. The missile work will mostly be split among Magna, Utah […]

More work on nuclear-tipped missiles contributed to yearly and quarterly earnings gains in 2018 at Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Md.-based defense giant announced this week. Lockheed’s 2018 net earnings from continuing operations were more than $5 billion, or $17.59 a share in 2018: up more than two-and-a-half times from just under $2 billion in 2017. […]

Lockheed Martin on Jan. 30 won a $560 million modification to produce Trident II (D5) missiles for the U.S. and U.K. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs awarded this as a cost-plus-incentive-fee modification for Trident II missile production and deployed system support. The missile work will mostly be split among Magna, Utah (29 percent), Sunnyvale, Calif. (17 […]

Boeing, a central player on the Pentagon side of the current U.S. nuclear arsenal modernization regime, broke its own sales and earnings records for the year and quarter ended Dec. 31, the Chicago-based defense prime said Wednesday. Boeing, which among other things is working on designs for next-generation nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and production of […]

More work on nuclear-tipped missiles contributed to yearly and quarterly earnings gains at Lockheed Martin. The defense contractor, of Bethesda, Md. released an early look earnings press release Tuesday ahead of a scheduled 11 a.m. earnings call. Lockheed’s 2018 earnings from continuing operations were more than $5 billion, or $17.59 a share, more than two-and-a-half times […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Friday it has started building the first low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead ordered by the Donald Trump administration last year. “The Pantex Plant has initiated assembly of the W76-2 First Production Unit,” an agency spokesperson wrote Friday in an email response to a query from Nuclear Security & […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) confirmed Tuesday it has finished refurbishing the final submarine-launched W76 ballistic missile warheads for another 30 years of service. The NNSA finished building the last W76-1 warhead in December, an agency spokesperson said by email. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency started planning for the W76-1 life-extension program in 1999 […]

In the National Nuclear Security Administration’s world of warheads and bombs, the big question of 2019 is: will the newly divided Congress quash the newly funded W76-2 low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead? The GOP-controlled government last year funded the weapon to the tune of $65 million for fiscal 2019, over the loud protests of congressional […]

The United States could shave about $13 billion off the federal deficit over 20 years by slashing some 500 warheads from the nation’s nuclear arsenal, the nonpartisan federal Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. The suggestion was only one of many money-saving ideas in the biennial Options for Reducing the Deficit report, which this year covers […]

The cost to replace the Air Force’s aging aircraft fleet and build new advanced jets is only expected to rise over the next three decades, averaging between $15 billion and $23 billion through 2040, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report. The CBO report, titled “The Cost of Replacing Today’s Air Force Fleet” and released […]

As Pentagon officials and lawmakers mull the topline of the fiscal year 2020 defense budget, Huntington Ingalls Industries will be focused on ensuring the Navy’s next generation of nuclear submarines remains sufficiently funded without sacrificing other shipbuilding priorities, the company’s leader said. The forthcoming Columbia-class of nuclear submarines has been identified as a top service priority, said HII […]

As Pentagon officials and lawmakers mull the topline of the fiscal year 2020 defense budget, Huntington Ingalls Industries will be focused on ensuring the Navy’s next generation of nuclear submarines remains sufficiently funded without sacrificing other shipbuilding priorities, the company’s leader said. The forthcoming Columbia-class of nuclear submarines has been identified as a top service priority, said HII […]

By Rich Abott Defense Daily A top Navy official confirmed the service is looking to fund the upcoming Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine program (SSBN) separately from the normal shipbuilding budget. Vice Adm. William Merz, Deputy Chief Of Naval Operations for Warfare Systems (OPNAV N9) told reporters following a Senate Armed Services Seapower subcommittee hearing on […]

The Air Force has selected Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., as a maintenance and sustainment hub for the B-21 next-generation bomber, which could carry the revamped B61-12 gravity bomb about to be modernized by the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the future Long Range Standoff Weapon nuclear-tipped cruise missile. The Air Force announced the decision […]

Boeing has been awarded a $70.5 million contract modification for the Air Force’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) flight test, telemetry and termination program, the Defense Department said Nov. 13. The modification changes the “specifications for the parts management plan, flight termination receiver, electromagnetic interference, cable qualification requirements, and antenna testing requirements,” according to […]

The next-generation submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) to be featured on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine will incorporate some elements of the current Trident D5 Life Extension (D5LE) weapon, a top Navy official said. Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, director of Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), told the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium Nov. 8 that the follow-on missile is […]