Warhead & Weapons Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the U.S. producing more modernized nuclear weapons annually than it has since the end of the Cold War, the government should not “over respond” to rising nuclear threats abroad, the head of National Nuclear Security Administration said here Wednesday. Although she is “very worried about global conditions,” Jill Hruby, administrator of […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Consolidated Nuclear Security submitted a new rebaseline for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the facility’s project manager said here. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. “There is a new rebaseline that’s been […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Consolidated Nuclear Security submitted a new rebaseline for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the facility’s project manager said here. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. “There is a new rebaseline that’s been […]

WASHINGTON — Construction on the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex is about 70% complete and ahead of the current schedule, the site manager told the Exchange Monitor recently. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. “So the current baseline schedule, and of course, it’s […]

WASHINGTON — The Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex would benefit from a continuing resolution, the site’s prime said, while plutonium pits could suffer under a short term budget extension, a spokesperson at the Department of Defense told the Exchange Monitor recently. The bill, voted on Wednesday as Congress prepared to leave town […]

WASHINGTON — Construction on the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex is about 70% complete and ahead of the current schedule, the site manager told the Exchange Monitor recently. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages.  “So the current baseline schedule, and […]

WASHINGTON — The Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex would benefit from a continuing resolution, the site’s prime said, while plutonium pits could suffer under a short term budget extension, a spokesperson at the Department of Defense told the Exchange Monitor last week. A House committee on Monday planned to consider a […]

The House and Senate essentially agree on fiscal 2025 spending levels for the National Nuclear Security Administration, but election-year politics may lead to a shutdown instead, media reported this week. House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) is considering a six-month continuing resolution to freeze federal spending at 2024 levels through March, media including Politico and […]

Editor’s note: this story is free to read as part of the ExchangeMonitor’s EXM Weekly newsletter. If you enjoyed reading, click here to sign up for EXM Weekly and get one free story from us every week. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Thursday awarded a contract for management and operation of  the Pantex Plant […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Thursday awarded a contract for management and operation of  the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas to a joint venture called PanTeXas Deterrence LLC, led by Lynchburg, Va. based BWX Technologies. That is according to a notice on the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM.gov). The award […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration still plans to announce the new manager of Pantex Plant in June, the head of the agency said here Wednesday. Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), reiterated the timeline during an evening Capitol Hill panel discussion and reception hosted by Bechtel National, the nongovernmental […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration still plans to announce the new manager of Pantex Plant in June, the head of the agency said here Wednesday. Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), reiterated the timeline during an evening Capitol Hill panel discussion and reception hosted by the nongovernmental Advanced Nuclear […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security planned to subcontract construction of a new vehicle fuel station at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the site prime said Monday. The project includes designing and building the new fuel station for Y-12, as well as equipping a building with a computer station and three 10,000-gallon fueling systems, […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security planned to subcontract construction of a new vehicle fuel station at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the site prime said Monday. The project includes designing and building the new fuel station for Y-12, as well as equipping a building with a computer station and three 10,000-gallon fueling systems, […]

Missouri state senators this week passed a bill to provide tax breaks for the expansion of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s factory for non-nuclear nuclear-weapon parts. The bill now heads to the state legislature’s House of Representatives, where it had not been scheduled for a vote at deadline Friday for Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor. […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security paid $18.4 million to settle allegations of timecard fraud at the Pantex Plant that date back to the company’s takeover of the facility, the Department of Justice said this week. “[B]etween July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2020, [Consolidated Nuclear Security] knowingly submitted false claims to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) […]

The Department of Justice on Tuesday said Consolidated Nuclear Security paid $18.4 million to settle allegations of timecard fraud at the Pantex Plant that date back to the company’s takeover of the facility in 2014. “[B]etween July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2020, [Consolidated Nuclear Security] knowingly submitted false claims to the National Nuclear Security […]

The separation of the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee took a baby step forward this week with the opening of separate federal field offices for the nuclear-weapons production sites. Consolidated Nuclear Security, still the joint operations contractor for the two sites, announced the split on Tuesday in a […]

WASHINGTON — A three-year slip for a new x-ray imager will not necessarily result in a bigger, more massive W93 nuclear warhead, senior officials from Los Alamos National Laboratory said here Thursday. That was a slight change in tune compared with an appraisal one of these people made last year. For the last three years, […]

Sometime between October and December, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s programs to refurbish its B61 bombs and W88 warheads reached the halfway mark, an agency spokesperson said Monday. Production of the B61-12 Life Extension Program and W88 Alt 370 reached the halfway mark, with at least 50% of the required weapons produced and delivered to […]

The U.S. Air Force is prepared to put multiple nuclear warheads atop its new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles if called to do so, according to the officer in charge of fielding the new missile.  Brig. Gen. Colin Connor, the Air Force’s director of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) modernization, said on Wednesday that the new LGM-35 […]

The U.S. Air Force is prepared to put multiple nuclear warheads atop its new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles if called to do so, according to the officer in charge of fielding the new missile.  Brig. Gen. Colin Connor, the Air Force’s director of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) modernization, said on Wednesday that the new LGM-35 […]

The U.S. military will develop a new, higher-yield variant of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb designed for delivery by modern aircraft, the Pentagon announced on Oct. 27. Designated the B61-13, the new bomb will be suited for use against hardened and large-area military targets, the Defense Department said in a statement. Congressional approval and funding […]

The U.S. military will develop a new, higher-yield variant of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb designed for delivery by modern aircraft, the Pentagon announced on Oct. 27. Designated the B61-13, the new bomb will be suited for use against hardened and large-area military targets, the Defense Department said in a statement. Congressional approval and funding […]

While assembling a nuclear weapon in mid-September, technicians at the Pantex Plant in Texas crossed a pair of color-coded and labeled wires, an error that made it past a quality control inspection, according to a report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.  During the week of September 15, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS, which runs […]

While assembling a nuclear weapon in mid-September, technicians at the Pantex Plant in Texas crossed a pair of color-coded and labeled wires, an error that made it past a quality control inspection, according to a report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.  During the week of September 15, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS, which runs […]

Deliveries of the B61-12 nuclear bomb that eventually will be carried by the Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter are underway, the National Nuclear Security Administration told Exchange Monitor. The Nuclear Weapons Council authorized B61-12 Life Extension Program entry into Phase 6.6, which marks full rate production, in June 2022, an NNSA spokesperson said in […]

Federal officials did not inappropriately block contractors from investigating concerns about a program to refurbish one of the Navy’s two nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy’s inspector general wrote in a recent report. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is upgrading the W88, which tips submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles and entered service in 1988, for […]

Teams vying to take over the Pantex Plant from its Bechtel-led incumbent will get another two weeks to turn in their final bids, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Friday. The agency extended the deadline for bids on the potentially 20-year contract by two weeks to Sept. 28, according to a procurement notice posted online. The […]

Federal officials did not inappropriately block contractors from investigating concerns about a program to refurbish one of the Navy’s two nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy’s inspector general wrote in a recent report. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is upgrading the W88, which tips submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles and entered service in 1988, for […]