Nuclear Security & Deterrence Vol. 18 No. 6 ACTING NNSA CHIEF SIGNALS POTENTIAL FEE CHANGE FOR M&O CONTRACTORS
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
LARRY WELCH HONORED WITH JOHNNY FOSTER AWARD
NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 Retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch, the former commander of Strategic Air Command and former Air Force Chief of Staff, was awarded this week with the second annual Johnny Foster Award by ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums. Welch retired from the Air Force 24 years ago, but has been a fixture in the […]
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Warhead & Weapons Development
NEW DATA ON W78, W88 DRIVING DELAY TO INTEROPERABLE WARHEAD PROGRAM
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 Recent surveillance work on the W78 and W88 warheads has revealed that the warheads can be sustained until 2030, allowing the National Nuclear Security Administration to delay work on an interoperable warhead, NNSA weapons program chief Don Cook said this week on the sidelines of the Sixth Annual Nuclear Deterrence […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
RAND STUDY ENDORSES MODEST UPGRADE OF MINUTEMAN III ICBM
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 As the Air Force considers extending the life of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, it should strongly look at keeping the ICBM in service past 2030 through incremental upgrades, according to a recently released study authored by the RAND Corp. The study, titled “The Future of the U.S. Intercontinental […]
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Defense & Military
AIR FORCE LAUNCHES MORE REVIEWS FOLLOWING CHEATING SCANDAL
Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 The Air Force is launching a new effort, dubbed the “force improvement program,” in the wake of a cheating scandal involving officers that work with the nation’s ICBMs. The new effort comes as two reviews are underway that were launched by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last month in response to […]
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Budget & Policy
DOE UNVEILS NEW APPROACH FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY
Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 The Department of Energy is dissolving its Office of Health, Safety and Security in a new reorganization officially announced this week that DOE says is intended to better enhance its safety and security functions. As Weapons Complex Morning Briefing first reported, the reorganization will entail the creation of a new […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
MOX PROJECT STILL HASN’T RECEIVED $59 MILLION IN REPROGRAMMED FUNDS
Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 While Congress approved a reprogramming request to move $59.2 million to construction activities at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility late last year, those funds have yet to reach the project, NS&D Monitor has learned. The National Nuclear Security Administration originally submitted the reprogramming request to Congress in early August […]
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Contracts & Procurement
URS PRESIDENT AND COO RESIGNS AMID DOWN 2013 RESULTS
Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 Bill Lingard abruptly resigned from his position as URS President and Chief Operating Officer this week. URS announced Lingard’s resignation along with the release of the company’s preliminary Fiscal Year 2013 financial results, which came in below expectations. The company said its expected 2013 earnings would be $3.20-$3.30 per share, […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
REPORT FROM ‘RED TEAM’ EXAMINING UPF ALTERNATIVES DUE BY MID-APRIL
Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 The ‘Red Team’ that’s looking for affordable alternatives to the Uranium Processing Facility is expected to have their recommendations to the National Nuclear Security Administration by mid-April, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, who’s heading the team. Mason said those are his “marching orders” from NNSA Acting […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
HELD CONFIRMS Y-12 URANIUM INCIDENT INVOLVED 20 GRAMS OF URANIUM OXIDE
Acting NNSA Administrator Says Security Did Its Job Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 Bruce Held, the acting administrator of the NNSA, this week confirmed new details of the mid-January incident involving the mishandling of uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Responding to questions following his keynote address at the Sixth Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, […]
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International
PRESIDENT SIGNS TWO-YEAR EXTENSION OF SOUTH KOREA CIVIL NUCLEAR DEAL
Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 President Obama this week signed into law a two-year extension to the United States’ current civil nuclear agree-ment with South Korea, which now will not expire until March 19, 2016. The extension was needed because the Administration and South Korea require more time to work out sensitive issues, including potential […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
NRC FINDS NO VIOLATIONS IN LATEST INSPECTION PERIOD
NRC FINDS NO VIOLATIONS IN LATEST INSPECTION PERIOD NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission found no violations in its latest round of construction inspections at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The NRC conducts quarterly inspections of the project’s construction by contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services. “The inspections examined activities conducted under your construction […]
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National Laboratories
AT LOS ALAMOS
REVIEW FINDS WIDESPREAD CRITICALITY SAFETY ISSUES NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 A review of criticality safety issues at Los Alamos National Laboratory has revealed widespread problems that led to the ongoing shutdown of its Plutonium Facility last summer, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report released last week. The report describes Los Alamos’ Criticality Safety […]
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National Laboratories
AT LIVERMORE
NIF REACHES MILESTONE NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 Scientists at Lawrence Livermore’s National Ignition Facility have reached a major milestone in the quest for ignition, achieving a fuel gain greater than 1 for the first time. The achievement was detailed in the Feb. 12 issue of the journal Nature, explaining that the yield performance during a recent […]
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Defense & Military
WRAP UP: IN CONGRESS
NS&D Monitor 2/14/2014 IN CONGRESS The nation’s nuclear forces will be the subject of a pair of Senate Armed Services Committee hearings in several weeks. Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney will appear before the full committee at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 27 alongside Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander, while the panel’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee […]