Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

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 National Nuclear Security Administration cold-shouldered Saudi Arabia recently when the Kingdom sought U.S. help establishing a civilian nuclear power industry, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in a hearing Wednesday. “I believe it’s imperative that we have that relationship with Saudi,” Manchin told the heads of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security […]

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 […]

The director of government affairs and community engagement at the National Nuclear Security Administration left the agency this month for a career in industry, according to his LinkedIn profile. Harris Walker now lists himself as director of government affairs and a “lithium policy change agent” for Livent Corp., Philadelphia. That ended a Department of Energy […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday released its draft solicitation for bids on a potentially 25-year standalone contract to manage the Pantex Plant nuclear-weapons service hub in Amarillo, Texas. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will have at least a five-year base with one five-year option period and perhaps as many as two more five-year options after […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday kicked off a big environmental review of the agency’s plan for expanding the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. over the next 15 years. Among the activities the nuclear-weapons agency plans to review are: Upgrading the lab’s capability to test nuclear weapons and components in radiation-rich environments by […]

NATO and the U.S. State Department this week held the 18th Annual NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman delivered remarks at the opening session of the conference on April 18. “NATO will […]

It will be another year before the National Nuclear Security Administration knows roughly how much it will cost to build the infrastructure to make 80 nuclear-weapon cores annually, the head of the agency told Senators Tuesday. NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby on Tuesday told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces that initial cost estimates […]

The Los Alamos Fire Department responded to 34 fire false alarms at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2022 and the obsolete alarm system continues to malfunction in 2023, according to reports from the site.  An ongoing effort to replace the existing fire alarm system at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility at TA-55, also […]

Los Alamos County, New Mexico, started its annual budgeting process Monday night with a public hearing on the proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2024, which includes a massive more-than-doubling of the fire department outlay to cover a cooperative agreement with the National Nuclear Security Administration.  The Los Alamos Fire Department provides firefighting and emergency […]

It will be another year before the National Nuclear Security Administration knows roughly how much it will cost to build the infrastructure to make 80 nuclear-weapon cores annually, the head of the agency told Senators Tuesday. NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby on Tuesday told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces that initial cost estimates […]

The Los Alamos Fire Department responded to 34 fire false alarms at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2022 and the obsolete alarm system continues to malfunction in 2023, according to reports from the site.  An ongoing effort to replace the existing fire alarm system at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility at TA-55, also […]

Los Alamos County, New Mexico, started its annual budgeting process Monday night with a public hearing on the proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2024, which includes a massive more-than-doubling of the fire department outlay to cover a cooperative agreement with the National Nuclear Security Administration.  The Los Alamos Fire Department provides firefighting and emergency […]

U.S. Strategic Command kicked off its annual nuclear command and control training and readiness exercise, Global Thunder, on Tuesday. As in previous years, Global Thunder 23 (GT23) includes an increase in bomber aircraft flights throughout the exercise, centered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska but involving all three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad. […]

Chad Stott, who joined the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on Monday, has been named resident inspector at the Pantex Plant in Panhandle, Texas. As a resident inspector at Pantex, Stott will advise the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) on overall safety conditions at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s central nuclear-weapons maintenance facility and […]

A federal magistrate judge in New Mexico has been asked to give the state environmental regulator and the Department of Energy 90 more days to continue settlement talks over changes to a consent decree governing nuclear cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Citing continued progress, the parties asked U.S. Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar on […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Monday awarded Nuclear Fuel Services, a subsidiary of naval nuclear reactor manufacturer BWX Technologies, a five-year, $428-million contract to provide purification and conversion services for highly enriched uranium .  Located in Erwin, Tenn., Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) is one of only two category I nuclear facilities licensed by the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s new Plutonium Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will not be up and running until 2032 at the earliest, according to the contractor who manages the site.  Stuart MacVean, president and CEO of Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, said Wednesday that the new Savannah River Plutonium […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has established the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security to advise senior agency leaders. Formerly known as the Defense Programs Advisory Committee, the new Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS) enlists experts with knowledge that spans the full range of the NNSA missions to provide independent advice and recommendations to NNSA […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security is seeking qualified licensed electrical contractors to replace and upgrade various aging electrical systems at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  The company, contracted to manage both Y-12 and the Pantex Plant in Panhandle, Texas, on behalf of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will hire multiple contractors under […]

The top boss for the Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina said this week he expects to see draft plans soon detailing how the National Nuclear Security Administration will take control of the complex from the DOE Office of Environmental Management. “The transition planning is well underway,” Stuart […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security is seeking qualified licensed electrical contractors to replace and upgrade various aging electrical systems at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  The company, contracted to manage both Y-12 and the Pantex Plant in Panhandle, Texas, on behalf of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will hire multiple contractors under […]

A federal magistrate judge in New Mexico has been asked to give the state environmental regulator and the Department of Energy 90 more days to continue settlement talks over changes to a consent decree governing nuclear cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Citing continued progress, the parties asked U.S. Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar on […]

Chad Stott, who joined the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on Monday, has been named resident inspector at the Pantex Plant in Panhandle, Texas. As a resident inspector at Pantex, Stott will advise the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) on overall safety conditions at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s central nuclear-weapons maintenance facility and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Monday awarded Nuclear Fuel Services, a subsidiary of naval nuclear reactor manufacturer BWX Technologies, a five-year, $428-million contract to provide purification and conversion services for highly enriched uranium .  Located in Erwin, Tenn., Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) is one of only two category I nuclear facilities licensed by the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has established the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security to advise senior agency leaders. Formerly known as the Defense Programs Advisory Committee, the new Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS) enlists experts with knowledge that spans the full range of the NNSA missions to provide independent advice and recommendations to NNSA […]

Some parallel efforts by the National Nuclear Security Administration and Defense Department to secure nuclear materials around the globe may be redundant if their individual mission goals are not more clearly defined, the Government Accountability Office found in a new report.  The GAO looked into 23 separate NNSA and DoD programs and found that “some […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is hiring for senior acquisition and construction management professionals with imminent application deadlines.  Through Monday, the NNSA is accepting applications for a deputy associate administrator for partnership and acquisition services in Washington. Applications for this and other NNSA positions can be submitted through the federal government’s job site, USAjobs.gov. Last […]

An employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory was blown off a ladder and severely burned in 2015 after spraying cleaning solutions on parts of a power substation that turned out to be electrified, according to a report on the incident published last week. After the resulting arc-flash, nine employees were sent to Los Alamos Medical […]

Though the National Nuclear Security Administration plans to dramatically ramp up plutonium pit production around the time a key arms control treaty expires in 2026, there are no plans to test fire any weapons, agency Administrator Jill Hruby said Monday in New Mexico. Hruby sat through two hours of questioning – and occasional haranguing – […]