Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 The U.S. should modernize the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons complex to have a “full range of capabilities” to produce components for National Nuclear Security Administration life extension programs, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, President Barack Obama’s nominee to serve as the next Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Beating out at least one other bidder, incumbent Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies has won the management and operations contract for the Kansas City National Security Campus, which will extend the contractor’s 15-plus-year tenure running the facility, according to a press release posted today by the National Nuclear Security Administration. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, during a speech Wednesday on Capitol Hill said he is “confident” that Congress will support nuclear modernization even if it crowds out other planned defense investments. “Our recent HASC hearing made clear that DoD will fund the nuclear modernization […]

Labor contract at Y-12 extended again With union contract negotiations apparently still unresolved at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, the start of contract talks at Y-12 has once again been postponed so that Consolidated Nuclear Security – the government’s managing contractor at both production sites – can focus its attention at the Texas plant. Steve […]

The Air Force and National Nuclear Security Administration completed the first development flight test of the B61-12 gravity bomb at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada on July 1, according to a July 8 NNSA press release. “This test marks a major milestone for the B61-12 Life Extension Program, demonstrating end-to-end system performance under representative delivery […]

An external review of The Aerospace Corporation’s recent study of plutonium disposition options rejects Aerospace’s life cycle cost estimates for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and a downblending alternative for disposal of surplus plutonium, and projects similar costs for both programs, according to a report released yesterday. The Nuclear Infrastructure Council posted the review, which […]

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, during a speech in Washington yesterday said he is “confident” that Congress will support nuclear modernization even if it crowds out other planned defense investments. “Our recent HASC hearing made clear that DOD will fund the nuclear modernization programs everyone here knows we need,” […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration recently released a draft environmental assessment for a proposed new 17,000 square-foot emergency response facility that would consolidate the Plant Shift Superintendent’s Office, the Emergency Command Center, the Technical Support Center, and the Fire Department Control Room from their present locations to a “survivable facility.” NNSA will accept public comments […]

Daily News and Intelligence for the Weapons Complex The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing is emailed out Monday through Thursday prior to the beginning of the business day. It is a source of timely ‘news you can use’, serving as an informative supplement to the weekly editions of Weapons Complex Monitor, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor […]

The South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council (GNAC) will hold a public meeting Thursday, which will include an update on  the MOX facility. It will be the first time in at least eight years that a GNAC meeting has hosted an Energy Department official to speak about alternatives to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility […]

Should NATO deploy B61 bombs to Poland or the Baltics to respond to Russia’s westward military movement and nuclear flexing? Two nuclear experts disagreed about possible answers to this question during a July 1 discussion on Capitol Hill. Steven Pifer, Director of Brookings Institution’s Arms Control Initiative, dismissed the idea, saying it would be “provocative” […]

The Pentagon released its 2015 National Military Strategy yesterday, outlining its intention to maintain a credible nuclear capability that is safe, secure and effective. “Deterring a direct attack on the United States and our allies is a priority mission, requiring homeland and regional defenses tied to secure conventional and nuclear strike capabilities,” the document states. […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the contractor that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex, has incorporated Material-at-Risk (MAR) reductions into the Safety Analysis Report and Technical Safety Requirements for the site’s aging uranium processing facility Building 9212, according to a site representative report from last month released by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) this […]

The Babcock & Wilcox company split went into effect yesterday, separating the newly named BWX Technologies from the power generation spin-off Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, the companies announced yesterday. BWXT began trading under its new ticker symbol yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange, according to the announcement. John Fees, executive chairman of BWXT, said […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office approved Consolidated Nuclear Security proposals to resume work on the B61 and W80 warhead programs after a “code blue” situation at Pantex in May sidelined operations on the programs for weeks, according to a recently released Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report, dated June 5. The […]

Safety analysis engineering personnel of the Pantex contractor are preparing a “justification for continued operations” after an “electrostatic discharge (ESD) scenario” involving Army-Navy containers prompted the National Nuclear Security Administration to on May 5 declare a “code blue” at Pantex that paused operations on a nuclear warhead program until at least May 29, according to […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) is seeking clarification on the “confinement of radioactive materials following a design basis earthquake” at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), according to a letter it sent last week to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The letter says that a DNFSB safety review found that "if […]

The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $5.9 million contract to Emerald-A&H Jv for site infrastructure and services at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility, according to last week’s award announcement. The “field readiness activities” to be performed by the contractor include the development of a site layout and traffic control plan, […]

As is our annual practice, WC Monitor will not publish next week in observance of the July 4th holiday. The next regular issue will be in your inbox July 10. The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will continue to be published Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and we will issue bulletins should any major news break in the interim.

IN DOE The Department of Energy’s Integrated Support Center-Oak Ridge has awarded Black Box Corporation $33.4 million for “operations, maintenance and upgrades to the Oak Ridge Federal Integrated Communications Network,” the company announced this week. The Pennsylvania-based company will provide integrated telecommunications support for sites that include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Security […]

DNFSB Reports Reveal Issues with Oak Ridge Conduct of Operations A series of reports released by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have documented the Oak Ridge plant’s problems in carrying out work procedures and mission protocols this year. For the week ending May 15, the board’s Y-12 site representatives — William Linzau and Rory […]

Alissa Tabirian  NS&D Monitor  6/26/2015 A key Air Force general yesterday rejected the charge that there are morale problems in the nuclear forces despite numerous cheating and misconduct problems exposed in recent years. In testimony before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, 20th Air Force commander, acknowledged “huge” […]

As is our annual practice, NS&D Monitor will not publish next week in observance of the July 4th holiday. The next regular issue will be in your inbox July 10. The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will continue to be published Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and we will issue bulletins should any major news break in the interim.

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  6/26/2015 If existing nuclear forces are not modernized, the U.S. will lose its existing deterrent capabilities in the 2020s and 2030s, the Pentagon’s No. 2 official said Thursday. “The choice that we’re facing quite frankly…is not [between] keeping the existing force or modernizing the force,” Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said Thursday […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/26/2015 The modernization of U.S. nuclear forces will require an increase in defense spending that surpasses Budget Control Act limits but will drop to current levels after the execution of certain modernization programs, according to a report preview released this week by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The CSBA […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/26/2015 Integrating a smaller, shorter-range cruise missile into the both land-based and carrier-based dual-capable F-35s could help the U.S. offset a low global “nuclear threshold” inadvertently caused by U.S. conventional weapons superiority, according to a nuclear strategy and posture report released June 22 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies […]

The modernization of U.S. nuclear forces will require an increase in defense spending that surpasses Budget Control Act limits but will drop to current levels after the execution of certain modernization programs, according to a report preview released this week by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The CSBA estimates that “annual costs should […]

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter yesterday said Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 and recent nuclear sabre rattling raises serious questions about Moscow’s commitment to global strategic stability. “Moscow’s nuclear sabre rattling raises questions about Russia’s commitment to strategic stability and causes us…to wonder about their respect…and whether they continue to respect […]

Integrating a smaller, shorter-range cruise missile into the both land-based and carrier-based dual-capable F-35s could help the U.S. offset a low global “nuclear threshold” caused by U.S. conventional weapons superiority, according to a nuclear strategy and posture report released yesterday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Project Atom: A Competitive Strategies Approach […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues at DOE nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in […]