Life Extension Programs

Released midday Tuesday, the Senate Armed Service’s version of the 2024 defense policy bill boosts spending on nuclear weapons by $276 million and increases overall funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, compared with the agency’s funding request.  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) jointly […]

Released midday Tuesday, the Senate Armed Service’s version of the 2024 defense policy bill boosts spending on nuclear weapons by $276 million and increases overall funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, compared with the agency’s funding request.  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) jointly […]

Members of the House Armed Services Committee propose to withhold funding for retirement of the W76-2 warhead unless the military and National Nuclear Security Administration can prove there is no need for the lower-yield submarine-launched weapon. The bill would also withhold 20% of travel funding for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator Jill Hruby until […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have successfully performed a second joint abnormal thermal environment test for the W80-4 Life Extension Program, the labs recently announced.  Carried out April 5 at Sandia’s Cross Wind Test Facility in New Mexico, this abnormal thermal environment test, or ATE-2, was a fast-heat, fully engulfing system-level fuel […]

Members of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee are proposing to withhold funding for retirement of the W76-2 warhead unless the military and National Nuclear Security Administration can prove there is no need for the lower-yield submarine-launched weapon. The proposal is included in the subcommittee’s markup of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have successfully performed a second joint abnormal thermal environment test for the W80-4 Life Extension Program, the labs recently announced.  Carried out April 5 at Sandia’s Cross Wind Test Facility in New Mexico, this abnormal thermal environment test, or ATE-2, was a fast-heat, fully engulfing system-level fuel […]

Production of tritium and plutonium pits could prove a significant limiting factor in the introduction of a new nuclear weapons delivery method like a sea-launched cruise missile and other attempts by the U.S. to beef up its nuclear arsenal to counter Russia and China, according to an official at the National Strategic Research Institute.  Christopher […]

The U.S. State Department released aggregate numbers of strategic offensive nuclear weapons on Monday, its obligation under the New START treaty, despite Russia’s refusal to participate further in the bilateral deal.  “As a lawful countermeasure in response to the Russian Federation’s violation of its New START Treaty obligations, the United States did not provide its […]

The U.S. State Department released aggregate numbers of strategic offensive nuclear weapons on Monday, its obligation under the New START treaty, despite Russia’s refusal to participate further in the bilateral deal.  “As a lawful countermeasure in response to the Russian Federation’s violation of its New START Treaty obligations, the United States did not provide its […]

Development of several non-nuclear components is holding up fielding of the warhead that will eventually ride on the Air Force’s new air-launched cruise missile, according to Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.  Speaking with the Exchange Monitor following testimony before Senate lawmakers this week, Hruby said “we have a full list in […]

Slips in the planned schedule for some parts of the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM will occur, but the Air Force is focused on ensuring that the Sentinel is ready on time, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said May 4. In September, 2020, the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a potential $13.3 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s latest Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, released Monday, fuzzed up delivery dates for distant, future nuclear weapons that, as recently as a year ago, had at least placeholder dates. Specially, three weapons, ground-, sea- and air-based warheads, now have “To Be Determined” first-production-unit delivery dates instead of the mid- to […]

Problems with components are mostly responsible for the two-year delay to the warhead for the next nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missile, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration told lawmakers Wednesday. There are “few components that are pacing the schedule” for the W80-4, Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told the […]

Problems with components are mostly responsible for the two-year delay to the warhead for the next nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missile, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration told lawmakers Wednesday.  There are “few components that are pacing the schedule” for the W80-4, Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told the […]

The Air Force and Navy on Wednesday morning used an airborne control center to test-fire an unarmed Minuteman III missile, the services said. The test gave the services a look at the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), an aircraft that can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles if ground-based communication with nuclear silos is disabled.  A joint […]

The Air Force and Navy on Wednesday morning used an airborne control center to test-fire an unarmed Minuteman III missile, the services said. The test gave the services a look at the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), an aircraft that can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles if ground-based communication with nuclear silos is disabled.  A joint […]

The U.S. Air Force launched its second unarmed Minuteman III test in the early hours of Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, ramping up dry runs for the land-based nuclear-launch vehicle following a pause after Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine in late February. The test launch, which took place at 4:13 a.m. […]

Life extensions for existing Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines should take some of the pressure off the Navy’s beleaguered Columbia-class replacements for those boats, the service’s head of acquisition for nuclear-armed submarines said recently. Building more Columbia boats in the 2030s than now planned could also help, Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, the Navy’s program executive officer for strategic submarines, said […]

An air-launched cruise missile warhead was not the only major civilian nuclear-weapons program slowed by COVID-19 supply chain snafus, but it was the only one drastically affected by the pandemic response, a senior government official said Tuesday. “I wouldn’t say it was the only one that was impacted,” said Brig. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, principal […]

An air-launched cruise missile warhead was not the only major civilian nuclear-weapons program slowed by COVID-19 supply chain snafus, but it was the only one drastically affected by the pandemic response, a senior government official said Tuesday. “I wouldn’t say it was the only one that was impacted,” said Brig. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, principal […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration now expects to produce the proof-of-concept article for the refurbished W80 nuclear cruise-missile warhead by the end of fiscal year 2027, roughly two years later than planned. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency will turn out the W80-4 first production unit by Sept. 30, 2027 instead of some […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration now expects to produce the proof-of-concept article for the refurbished W80 nuclear cruise-missile warhead by the end of fiscal year 2027, roughly two years later than planned. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency will turn out the W80-4 first production unit by Sept. 30, 2027 instead of some […]

Several nuclear weapons issues, touching on life extension programs, research prohibitions and more, could come up for debate on the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. After a week at home for Independence Day, lawmakers were set to resume floor votes on July 12, according to the majority leader’s calendar. Looming large is […]

Several nuclear weapons issues, touching on life extension programs, research prohibitions and more, could come up for debate on the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. After a week at home for Independence Day, lawmakers were set to resume floor votes on July 12, according to the majority leader’s calendar. Looming large […]

This year, the National Nuclear Security Administration will finish an integrated master schedule for building a new plutonium pit manufacturing complex and this summer, and this summer, it will quantify delays to the W80-4 nuclear cruise missile warhead, the head of the agency told Senators Thursday. “We are in the process of integrating those schedules […]

President Joe Biden’s plans to cease development of a nuclear-tipped, sea-launched cruise missile and to cancel a refresh for the B83 megaton-capable gravity bomb won’t make it through Congress, a key Republican House member predicted this week. “The president’s budget’s talking about getting rid of the sea-launched cruise missile and some of the B83 gravity […]

President Joe Biden’s plans to cease development of a nuclear-tipped, sea-launched cruise missile and to cancel a refresh for the B83 megaton-capable gravity bomb won’t make it through Congress, a key Republican House member predicted Monday. “The president’s budget’s talking about getting rid of the sea-launched cruise missile and some of the B83 gravity bombs, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration seeks no funding for fiscal year 2023 for either a nuclear, sea-launched cruise-missile warhead or for previously planned alternations for the B83 gravity bomb, according to the agency’s full budget request for the year. The news follows the Navy’s disclosure last week that it would seek Congress’ permission to cancel […]

The Navy is killing its nuclear-tipped sea-launched cruise missile program because it would cost too much money to build the weapon, which the service says cannot be built in time anyway. “The program was cost prohibitive and the acquisition schedule would have delivered capability late to need,” the Navy wrote recently in a 181-page highlight book […]

The U.S. Air Force in fiscal 2023 is requesting almost $981 million for the Long Range Standoff Missile that Raytheon is developing for the service — nearly $382 million more than appropriated by Congress in fiscal 2022 and more than $615 million more than the fiscal 2021 budget. Of the $980.8 million the Air Force […]