Life Extension Programs

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Jan. 18 it finished building the secondary stage for the first war-ready B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb on Dec. 6. The canned subassembly is the uranium-fueled stage of the future gravity bomb, which as part of a 20-year life-extension program will homogenize four previous versions of the venerable weapon. The […]

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 upper echelons of the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons apparatus shed no light Wednesday on exactly when they will begin producing the low-yield W76-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead — a modified version of the W76-1 warhead whose just-completed modernization drew a who’s who of agency leadership to Amarillo, Texas. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the […]

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 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Friday it finished building the secondary stage for the first war-ready B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb on Dec. 6. The canned subassembly is the uranium-fueled stage of the future gravity bomb, which as part of a 20-year life-extension program will homogenize four previous versions of the venerable weapon. The subassembly […]

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 […]

Defense contractor Boeing is clear to start production on crucial hardware for the B61-12 next-generation nuclear gravity bomb, the U.S. Air Force announced. Boeing’s tail kit cleared Milestone C — which in Pentagon program management precedes a project’s construction phase — in late October, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at the Kirtland Air Force […]

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 […]

Defense contractor Boeing is clear to start production on crucial hardware for the B61-12 next-generation nuclear gravity bomb, according to the U.S. Air Force announced. Boeing’s tail kit cleared Milestone C — which in Pentagon program management precedes a project’s construction phase — in late October, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at the Kirtland […]

A Government Accountability Office report published recently roughs out the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) timeline for producing a refurbished intercontinental ballistic missile warhead by roughly 2030. The NNSA would begin studying options for a W78 replacement between April and June 2019, nail down a cost and schedule baseline by June 2022, and produce the first war-ready […]

A Government Accountability Office report published Friday roughs out the National Nuclear Security Administration’s timeline for producing a refurbished intercontinental ballistic missile warhead by roughly 2030. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) would begin studying options for a W78 replacement between April and June 2019, nail down a baseline by June 2022, and produce the […]

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 […]

The Department of Energy last week finished a final design review on a multibillion-dollar program to homogenize four versions of the existing B61 nuclear gravity bomb, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said. “Production qualification activities at Pantex will begin in October 2018, which will enable Phase 6.5 First Production authorization in September […]

The Department of Energy finished a final design review on a multibillion-dollar program to homogenize four versions of the existing B61 nuclear gravity bomb, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said in a press release Friday. “Production qualification activities at Pantex will begin in October 2018, which will enable Phase 6.5 First Production […]

Weapons Complex Morning Briefing is retracting the story “Pentagon Needs New Nuke Cores for Cruise Missile, Official Says” (Sept. 6), which contained two fundamental inaccuracies. We have removed the story from our website. To correct the inaccuracies in the story: 1 – The W80-4 nuclear warhead planned to be carried by the Pentagon’s next-generation air-launched […]

Lockheed Martin, one of two Pentagon contractors developing a new cruise missile intended to carry the W80 nuclear warhead, this week reported better than 25-percent year-over-year earnings growth for the second quarter of 2018. Net income for the quarter ended June 24 rose 26 percent to $1.2 billion, or $4.05 a share, from $955 million, or […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced last week it completed a pair of flight tests on non-nuclear components of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb near the Nevada National Test Site. “The tests involved releasing a B61-12 non-nuclear test assembly, which includes the NNSA designed bomb assembly and U.S. Air Force acquired tail-kit, from a B-2A […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced last week it completed a pair of flight tests on non-nuclear components of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb near the Nevada National Test Site. “The tests involved releasing a B61-12 non-nuclear test assembly, which includes the NNSA designed bomb assembly and U.S. Air Force acquired tail-kit, from a B-2A […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration did a generally good job estimating its share of the cost to upgrade the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, but the agency has yet to explain a roughly $2.5 billion gap between its forecast and one provided by a nominally independent intra-agency office, according to the Government Accountability Office. The National […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration did a generally good job estimating its share of the cost to upgrade the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, but the agency has yet to explain a roughly $2.5 billion gap between its forecast and one provided by a nominally independent intra-agency office, according to the Government Accountability Office. The National […]

The House of Representatives’ version of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act would authorize $65 million in funding to begin work on a new low-yield nuclear warhead for submarine-launched ballistic missiles as part of an overall $15.3 billion National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) budget, according to a bill summary provided Friday by the House […]

Recent increases in U.S. defense spending have bolstered the Air Force’s nuclear modernization efforts, but the possible return of across-the-board budget cuts in FY 2020 looms as a potential threat to those programs, a service official said May 1. The two-year budget agreement that President Trump signed into law in February provides $700 billion for defense […]

WASHINGTON —The full House Armed Services Committee plans to authorize production of the low-yield nuclear warhead sought by the Donald Trump administration, a lawmaker said here Thursday. The new Nuclear Posture Review issued in February calls for the new weapon. For fiscal 2019, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has proposed spending $65 million to develop […]

The White House wants $65 million in fiscal 2019 for the Department of Energy to start work on the low-yield ballistic-missile warhead called for in the latest Nuclear Posture Review: a weapon Congress must authorize before the agency can start building it. The Donald Trump administration made the funding request official on April 13 in […]

The White House wants $65 million in fiscal 2019 for the Department of Energy to start work on the low-yield ballistic-missile warhead called for in the latest Nuclear Posture Review: a weapon Congress must authorize before the agency can start building it. The Donald Trump administration made the funding request official Friday in proposed amendments […]

The ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that writes the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) annual funding bill said this week she would not vote for a budget that keeps the B83 nuclear gravity bomb in service. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s senior senator laid into the Energy Department subagency’s top official about plans to move production […]

The ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that writes the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) annual funding bill said Wednesday she would not vote for a budget that keeps the B83 nuclear gravity bomb in service. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s senior senator laid into the Energy Department subagency’s top official about plans to move production of nuclear-weapon cores […]

Uniformed Air Force and Navy officers will join senior Pentagon officials today in the Senate for a hearing on nuclear weapons policy, programs, and strategy. The hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. Invited witnesses are: Guy Roberts, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and […]

Scores of Democratic congresspeople wrote to President Donald Trump on Monday to complain that the White House’s plans to add new low-yield nuclear warheads to the U.S. arsenal is dangerous and fiscally irresponsible. That was the takeaway of a letter dated March 26 and signed by 43 Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith (R-Wash.): ranking member […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry and the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) both assured Congress this week that the two new low-yield warheads called for in the Donald Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review can fit in projected agency budgets. Perry and NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty faced the same question Thursday on separate sides […]