Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

The U.S. Air Force is reviewing options for re-engining the B-52 bomber and intends to formally launch the acquisition effort later this year, a service official said Wednesday. William Roper, the Air Force’s new acquisition chief, said he conducted his first review with the re-engining team a few weeks ago and he expects to receive […]

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said there have been some early production “hiccups” with the B-21, notably with its engines. Wittman told reporters following a speech at the McAleese/Credit Suisse defense conference that there have been challenges with airflow through the B-21 engines. “This […]

The U.S. Air Force is reviewing options for re-engining the B-52 bomber and intends to formally launch the acquisition effort later this year, a service official said March 14. William Roper, the Air Force’s new acquisition chief, said he conducted his first review with the re-engining team a few weeks ago and he expects to […]

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said there have been some early production “hiccups” with the B-21, notably with its engines. Wittman told reporters following a speech at the McAleese/Credit Suisse defense conference that there have been challenges with airflow through the B-21 engines. “This […]

President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray to be the next commander of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. If confirmed by the Senate, Ray will replace Gen. Robin Rand, who is retiring. Ray is currently deputy commander of U.S. European Command. Trump has also nominated Maj. Gen. David Thompson to be […]

President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray to be the next commander of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. If confirmed by the Senate, Ray will replace Gen. Robin Rand, who is retiring. Ray is currently deputy commander of U.S. European Command. Trump has also nominated Maj. Gen. David Thompson to be […]

Although the Department of Energy has nearly finished the first of four ongoing warhead modernization programs, the U.S. nuclear arsenal is “very close to zero-percent modernized,” the general in charge of the Pentagon’s nuclear forces said Wednesday. “We’re starting down that path,” Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said Wednesday in […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory said Tuesday he is “confident” the Northern New Mexico nuclear weapons site could help create the low-yield nuclear warheads the Donald Trump administration requested in the Nuclear Posture Review released in early February. “Again, I go out on a branch, but I know from […]

Rich Abott Defense Daily By the end of 2019, the National Nuclear Security Administration plans to identify the best ways to secure low-enriched uranium for U.S. nuclear-weapon programs over the next 20 years, the semi-autonomous Department of Energy agency wrote in response to a Government Accountability Office report published Friday. The National Nuclear Security Administration […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) could turn the existing W76 warhead into the low-yield submarine-launched weapon requested by the Donald Trump administration by dialing back its explosive yield, a senior agency official said here Wednesday. “A low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead capability, deemed the W76 Mod 2, will be fielded […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) could turn the existing W76 warhead into the low-yield submarine-launched weapon requested by the Donald Trump administration by dialing back its explosive yield, according to the acting head of the Department of Energy weapons agency. “A low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead capability, deemed the W76 […]

The Defense Department has not yet decided what platform would launch the new nuclear- armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM) the administration is seeking in the recent nuclear posture review (NPR), the head of U.S. Strategic Command said. Air Force Gen. John Hyten said the Pentagon’s FY ’19 budget request has a tasking to look at […]

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 […]

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) criticized the Trump administration’s nearly completed Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) Jan. 24, saying its call for more weapons is unaffordable and unnecessary and would fuel an arms race. “This review is a missed opportunity to introduce realism into our nuclear weapons planning, enhance our security […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force has launched a two-month review of all of its programs to determine whether some of them are no longer needed, according to a service official. The review, which began Jan. 16 and is scheduled to end March 15, is meant to go beyond the annual budget process, which […]

Rich Abbott Defense Daily A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress found that several technologies for the Columbia-class submarine program need more development and testing to prevent cost and schedule delays that could delay deployment of the lead submarine beyond a 2031 deadline. Twelve Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are planned to replace the existing 14 Ohio-class vessels […]

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress found that several technologies for the Columbia-class submarine program need more development and testing to prevent cost and schedule delays that could delay deployment of the lead submarine beyond a 2031 deadline. Twelve Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are planned to replace the existing 14 Ohio-class vessels that provide the sea […]

Boeing says its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) effort completed its first major review with the Air Force in November. The system requirements review was designed to ensure that Boeing fully understands the system’s requirements. In August, Boeing and Northrop Grumman both received three-year contracts to conduct technology maturation and risk reduction for the new, […]

Boeing says its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) effort completed its first major review with the Air Force in November. The system requirements review was designed to ensure that Boeing fully understands the system’s requirements. In August, Boeing and Northrop Grumman both received three-year contracts to conduct technology maturation and risk reduction for the new, […]

Congress this week sent a defense authorization bill to President Donald Trump’s desk that would authorize research into a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, allow construction of a controversial plutonium processing facility the administration wants to cancel, and let the Department of Energy build a new office building for nuclear-weapons support personnel in Albuquerque. The House […]

The House of Representatives on Tuesday evening overwhelmingly approved a unified 2018 defense policy bill that would authorize a new ground-launched cruise missile program, continue construction of a plutonium-conversion facility the White House wants to cancel, and allow the National Nuclear Security Administration to start building a new headquarters branch in New Mexico. The House […]

Richard Abbot Defense Daily The Navy has been able to reduce the cost of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine by $80 million per unit and the program remains on schedule, a top Navy acquisition official said last week. Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Submarines, said Nov. 2 that after the Columbia […]

The Navy has been able to reduce the cost of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine by $80 million per unit and the program remains on schedule, a top Navy acquisition official said last week. Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Submarines, said Nov. 2 that after the Columbia program reached Milestone B in late 2016 and transitioned […]

The House and Senate on Wednesday reached a compromise on this year’s defense authorization legislation, though the fate of a couple Department of Energy nuclear programs remained unknown at deadline Wednesday. What was known came from congressional summaries of the massive bill report that will accompany the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act to President […]

Pentagon nuclear arsenal modernization prime Northrop Grumman exceeded expectations with its third-quarter earnings Wednesday, while fellow nuke prime Lockheed Martin underperformed the Wall Street consensus. Northrop posted a 10-percent earnings increase over the year-ago quarter on a 6-percent rise in quarterly revenue. Earnings per share of $3.68 beat the Wall Street consensus of $2.90, as […]

Pentagon nuclear arsenal modernization prime Northrop Grumman exceeded expectations with its third-quarter earnings Wednesday, posting a 10-percent earnings increase over the year-ago quarter on a 6-percent rise in quarterly revenue. Earnings per share of $3.68 beat the Wall Street consensus of $2.90, as reported by the website MarketWatch, while revenue in the quarter ended Sept. […]

Vice President Mike Pence plans to visit Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota Oct. 27 to review the base’s two nuclear missions, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced Oct. 25. Pence will meet with the base leadership and address the airmen, Hoeven said. “It’s important for the administration to be familiar with the good work […]

Lockheed Martin, one of the Pentagon’s prime nuclear arsenal-modernization contractors, saw its stock price take a tumble Tuesday after its third-quarter earnings came in lower than analysts expected. The stock dropped 2.36 percent, to $313.15, at the end of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Bethesda, Md.-based contracting titan turned in earnings per […]

Contracting giants Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, major players in the Pentagon’s nuclear modernization program, are set to report earnings this week. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings Tuesday, is one of two contractors (with Raytheon) developing technology for a next-generation air-launched nuclear-tipped cruise missile known as the Long-Range Standoff weapon. Lockheed’s […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has refurbished the first in a line of nuclear warheads that will be used on an aging fleet of U.S. cruise missiles well into next decade. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear stockpile steward completed the first production unit of the W80-1 Alt 369 “before fiscal year 2017 came […]