Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 Responding to proposals by arms control advocates calling for a 10-year delay of the long-range strike bomber, a top Air Force official this week cited the inefficiency of delaying projects and called for officials to move more quickly to modernize nuclear bombers. “At the end of the day, we just […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration will compete the Kansas City National Security Campus management-and-operating contract for the first time in 14 years, hoping that competition for the contract will bring about an increase in performance at what is already one of the weapons complex’s highest achieving sites. The agency late […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 With Republicans gaining control of the Senate this week in a wave of support during the mid-term elections, nuclear weapons experts and Congressional aides are expecting a shift toward support of modernizing the nation’s nuclear weapons complex in the GOP-controlled Congress, though the modernization aspirations of Republicans could run up […]

DOE Office of Enforcement Investigating Chemical Explosion at NNSS NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 Officials from the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement will visit the Nevada National Security Site later this month as part of an investigation into a chemical explosion that occurred in June. The explosion at the site’s Nonproliferation Test […]

POGO Raises Concerns About Lack of Information on UPF NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 The Project on Government Oversight, a long-time Department of Energy watchdog group, this week said it has “serious concerns” about the lack of information being made publicly available on the multibillion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility and called for greater transparency on the national security […]

Officials from the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement will visit the Nevada National Security Site later this month as part of an investigation into a chemical explosion that occurred in June. The explosion at the site’s Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex injured two workers when a worker moved a 55-gallon […]

Want to know what President has cut the size of the nation’s nuclear stockpile the most? Despite a high-profile pledge to push for a world without nuclear weapons, it’s not President Obama, according to the New York Times. Citing Federation of American Scientists nuclear weapons expert Hans Kristensen, the Times noted Nov. 1 that Obama […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 With about 11 months left before Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies’ contract to run the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus expires, NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz said this week that an announcement on the contract will come “very soon.” Honeywell’s contract to run the plant expires Sept. […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the Bechtel-led team that took over management of Y-12 and Pantex in July, has awarded a no fee subcontract to its parent company Bechtel National, Inc. to build the Uranium Processing Facility, UPF Project Director Brian Reilly said in a message to employees this week. The approach […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 In a management change at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project this week, CB&I AREVA MOX Services has named David Del Vecchio as the next president and project manager while current project head Kelly Trice will be the new senior vice president for CB&I’s power division. Trice will remain […]

NRC Finds No MOX Violations in Third Quarter NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission found no violations or deviations for the period from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2014, the agency told contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services in an Oct. 16 letter. The NRC releases quarterly reports on the project based on the findings […]

Lab Completes Flight, Drop Tests on W88 Nuclear Warhead NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed flight and drop tests for a new variation of the W88 nuclear warhead, the lab said this week. The flight and drop tests for the W88 ALT 370 were conducted to validate designs, improve computer modeling and […]

DOE IG Raises Concerns With Pantex Corrective Actions Systems NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 New Pantex Plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security should strengthen its corrective actions systems, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said in an audit report released late last week. The IG found previous plant contractor B&W Pantex generally implemented corrective actions programs, including the […]

With about 11 months left on Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies’ contract to run the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus, NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz said yesterday that an announcement on the contract will come “very soon.” Honeywell’s contract to run the plant expires Sept. 30, 2015, and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz […]

Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed flight and drop tests for a new variation of the W88 nuclear warhead, the lab said yesterday. The flight and drop tests for the W88 ALT 370 were conducted to validate designs, improve computer modeling and update component specifications, the lab said. The Critical Radar Arming and Fuzing Test […]

In a management change at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project, CB&I AREVA MOX Services has named David Del Vecchio as the next president and project manager while current project head Kelly Trice will be the new senior vice president for CB&I’s power division. Trice will remain the president of CB&I Project Services Group […]

New Pantex Plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security should strengthen its corrective actions systems, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said in an audit report released late last week. The IG found previous plant contractor B&W Pantex generally implemented corrective actions programs, including the Problem Evaluation Request/Electronic Suspense Tracking and Routing System, the Employee Concerns Program, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission found no violations or deviations for the period from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2014, the agency told contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services in an Oct. 16 letter. The NRC releases  quarterly reports on the project based on the findings of its resident inspection team on whether construction activities are conducted […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/24/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration has completed half of its refurbishment work on the W76-1 nuclear warhead and is on track to complete the life extension program by the end of Fiscal Year 2019, the agency said this week. The NNSA has not released the number of W76 warheads that […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/24/2014 The United States could save $70 billion by cutting five planned nuclear modernization programs, an arms control group said in a report released Oct. 20. Authored by Tom Collina, director of policy for the Ploughshares Fund, and Arms Control Association (ACA) research staff, “The Unaffordable Arsenal: Reducing the Costs of […]

The United States could save $70 billion by cutting five planned nuclear modernization programs, an arms control group said in a report released yesterday. Authored by Tom Collina, director of policy for the Ploughshares Fund, and ACA research staff, “The Unaffordable Arsenal: Reducing the Costs of the Bloated U.S. Nuclear Stockpile” suggests that delaying plans […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration has beefed up federal oversight of the Uranium Processing Facility project in the wake of a space/fit issue that added $540 million to the projected cost of the now-scaled-back facility, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released late last week. The project was […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to continue to increase the use of firm fixed-price contracting for non-major capital projects as one of the strategies to improve its project management, the agency said in a report to Congress last month obtained by NS&D Monitor. The Congressionally mandated report notes that […]

Delays to LRSO Warhead Mean Pantex Could Face Production Lull After B61 Work Wraps Up Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 The Obama Administration’s decision to delay work on a new long-range standoff (LRSO) weapon for up to three years and defer work on a first interoperable warhead has created a potential production gap at the […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration is on the verge of qualifying a 3-D-printed part for use in a nuclear weapon for the first time, marking a major milestone in the meteoric rise of the new production technology. Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, is already being used to produce tooling used […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 Plans for a new pit storage facility to replace an aging storage bunker at the Pantex Plant are again moving forward. The NNSA Production Office last month requested Critical Decision-0 approval for a new Material Staging Facility at the plant, according to a recently released memo from the Defense Nuclear […]

Plans for a new pit storage facility to replace an aging storage bunker at the Pantex Plant are again moving forward. The NNSA Production Office last month requested Critical Decision-0 approval for a new Material Staging Facility at the plant, according to a recently released memo from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The DNFSB […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to continue to increase the use of firm fixed-price contracting for non-major capital projects as one of the strategies to improve its project management, the agency said in a report to Congress last month obtained by NS&D Monitor. The Congressionally mandated report notes that NNSA has made progress in […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has beefed up federal oversight of the Uranium Processing Facility project in the wake of a space/fit issue that added $540 million to the projected cost of the now-scaled-back facility, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday. The project was criticized for inadequate federal oversight, but the […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/10/2014 A group of nuclear explosive safety senior technical advisors that has made safety-related recommendations about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Pantex Plant says their voice isn’t being heard, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board member Sean Sullivan told Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon this week. […]