Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Early delivery of equipment for a Savannah River Site (SRS) training facility is helping accelerate preparations for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plutonium pit production mission, the agency said in a press release. NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Scott Pappano visited SRS in September to review construction of the High-Fidelity Training and Operations Center (HFTOC), […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has promoted Greg Ennis to senior vice president and chief financial officer of its Mission Technologies division, the company announced Oct. 2. Ennis will lead Mission Technologies’ financial organization and oversee accounting, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, rates and budgets, and program cost control across the division, HII said. Ennis […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence currently has a vacancy available for its director position, according to a job posting on usajobs.gov. “I can personally attest that this is a uniquely important, demanding, and satisfying position, serving as both the senior intelligence officer/advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Energy and […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has promoted Greg Ennis to senior vice president and chief financial officer of its Mission Technologies division, the company announced Oct. 2. Ennis will lead Mission Technologies’ financial organization and oversee accounting, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, rates and budgets, and program cost control across the division, HII said. Ennis […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has completed all W80-4 nuclear warhead components planned for fiscal year 2026 months ahead of schedule, giving the agency additional schedule margin as it works toward delivering the first complete warhead in September 2027. The milestone was reached at the Kansas City National Security Campus, where production teams completed the […]

The Navy’s W93/Mk7 nuclear warhead and reentry system has entered the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase after achieving Milestone B, advancing the first new U.S. nuclear warhead program initiated in nearly four decades. The Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive Strategic Systems Programs announced Sept. 24 that the W93/Mk7 program had entered the EMD phase of […]

The Department of Energy is preparing a Manhattan Project-era facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex for demolition while recovering equipment that can be reused across dozens of National Nuclear Security Administration facilities. The department’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and NNSA are working with their respective contractors, United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should use private-sector investment and technology to expand inertial confinement fusion capabilities for nuclear weapons research, according to a Washington Post op-ed published Sept. 17. Abigail Remler, an adviser to the Special Competitive Studies Project, and David Feith, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, argue that NNSA could […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration highlighted the Laboratory for Laser Energetics’ (LLE) role in U.S. nuclear weapons research as the University of Rochester facility marked its 50th anniversary, according to a press release this week.  LLE pioneered chirped-pulse amplification, a laser technology that helped advance inertial confinement fusion and high-energy-density physics.  NNSA said LLE’s Omega […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should use private-sector investment and technology to expand inertial confinement fusion capabilities for nuclear weapons research, according to a Washington Post op-ed published Sept. 17. Abigail Remler, an adviser to the Special Competitive Studies Project, and David Feith, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, argue that NNSA could […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Savannah River Site is moving beyond its traditional environmental cleanup mission as the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration prepare to expand nuclear-fuel, plutonium and other national-security activities at the South Carolina site. The NNSA took over landlord responsibilities from DOE’s Environmental Management in October 2024. Edwin Deshong, manager of […]

The South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) is demanding the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) conduct a public environmental review of plans to provide 19.7 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium to private nuclear companies. SCELP published the letter of demand Sept. 8 on behalf of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Thursday its Y-12 National Security Complex has completed production and acceptance testing of the B61-13’s canned subassemblies, finishing the work roughly seven months ahead of schedule. The milestone fulfills a timeline NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams projected in an August interview with Exchange Monitor, when he said the remaining […]

BWX Technologies has received a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to develop a conceptual design for the first module of a new Lithium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The first phase of the award is a four-month, $4 million contract that covers the conceptual design […]

Nearly a year into his tenure leading the National Nuclear Security Administration, Brandon Williams says some of his most difficult decisions have involved challenging the way the agency has traditionally done business. “The hardest decisions are that we’re not going to do business as usual,” Williams told Exchange Monitor in an exclusive interview in August. […]

Sandia National Laboratories has completed a sounding rocket flight test designed to provide real-world reentry data that will inform development of nonnuclear components for the Navy’s W93 nuclear warhead. The Atrax test, conducted at Sandia’s Kauai Test Facility, collected data on the aerodynamic loads and vibrations a reentry vehicle experiences as it travels toward its […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration and Defense Threat Reduction Agency removed a disused cobalt-60 source from Guatemala, transporting the material to secured storage in the United States. The operation, which started in May, involved the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory and Guatemalan officials from the National Centre of Radioactive Wastes and Ministry of […]

Parsons has secured two task orders from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)  to design and deploy counter-nuclear smuggling systems across the Middle East and Africa. The Middle East Region 3 and Africa Region 2 task orders cover counter-nuclear smuggling initiatives in 25 countries, according to an Aug. 27 company announcement. NNSA is a semiautonomous […]

Sandia National Laboratories has completed the second and final full-scale crash test of a next-generation transporter designed to carry U.S. nuclear weapons and other sensitive materials. The Mobile Guardian Transporter (MGT), being developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Secure Transportation, was propelled by rocket motors down Sandia’s sled track before being slammed into […]

The White House’s new science and technology strategy elevates nuclear energy to a critical technology for national security, while also emphasizing the need for a survivable and credible nuclear deterrent. The August 2026 National Security Science and Technology Strategy identifies nuclear energy as one of 12 “key enabling technologies” that the White House says agencies […]

OMAHA, Neb. — Suspected covert Chinese nuclear testing justifies U.S. preparations to resume nuclear explosive testing on an “equal basis” while pursuing future arms control, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Stability Christopher Yeaw said Wednesday. Speaking at the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Deterrence Symposium, Yeaw said nuclear testing, arms control, modernization […]

OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Commander Adm. Richard Correll said the United States is navigating a “once-in-every-other-generation” modernization effort as emerging technologies and a complex threat environment place greater urgency on decisions shaping the future nuclear deterrent. Giving opening remarks at STRATCOM’s annual Deterrence Symposium, Correll said the Pentagon is simultaneously recapitalizing all […]

OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Commander Adm. Richard Correll said the United States is navigating a “once-in-every-other-generation” modernization effort as emerging technologies and a complex threat environment place greater urgency on decisions shaping the future nuclear deterrent. Giving opening remarks at STRATCOM’s annual Deterrence Symposium, Correll said the Pentagon is simultaneously recapitalizing all […]

The 2026 United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Deterrence Symposium will take place Aug. 5-6 in Omaha, Neb. at the CHI Health Center. The theme this year is “Peace through strength: turning defense strategy into decisive deterrence action,” according to the website. Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), will speak on Thursday. […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has delivered its fifth next-generation Global Burst Detector (GBD) sensor payload to the U.S. Space Force to monitor nuclear detonations above-ground globally. The payload will be integrated onto a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite before launch, where it will join an existing constellation of sensors that continuously monitor the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has delivered its fifth next-generation Global Burst Detector (GBD) sensor payload to the U.S. Space Force to monitor nuclear detonations above-ground globally. The payload will be integrated onto a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite before launch, where it will join an existing constellation of sensors that continuously monitor the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has determined that construction and operation of a new East End Campus at the Y-12 National Security Complex will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. This finding clears the way for the project to move forward without preparing a full environmental impact statement. NNSA issued a […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has authorized startup of the Calciner Project at Y-12 National Security Complex, adding another modernized uranium processing capability. The calciner converts uranium-bearing liquid solutions from pipes and process equipment into a stable solid form for storage, allowing radioactive material to be removed from legacy facilities and supporting the eventual […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has authorized startup of the Calciner Project at Y-12 National Security Complex, adding another modernized uranium processing capability. The calciner converts uranium-bearing liquid solutions from pipes and process equipment into a stable solid form for storage, allowing radioactive material to be removed from legacy facilities and supporting the eventual […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has determined that construction and operation of a new East End Campus at the Y-12 National Security Complex will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. This finding clears the way for the project to move forward without preparing a full environmental impact statement. NNSA issued a […]