Nuclear Security & Deterrence Vol. 19 No. 11 FAS Report: U.S. Contains 7,100 Total Warheads
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Air Force to Award Multiple Contracts for GBSD’s TMRR Phase
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The Air Force plans to award multiple contracts for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent’s (GBSD’s) Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase, and will down-select for the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, according to industry Q&As released March 9. The Air Force has not decided whether it will award the […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NNSA Administrator: UPF On Schedule and On Budget
Senate Appropriators Suggest Hard Decisions Await NNSA Budget Request Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz told Senate appropriators this week that the Uranium Processing Facility planned for the Y-12 National Security Complex was on track to be completed by 2025 within a $6.5 billion budget cap. Testifying before the […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums Acquired by Access Intelligence
NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums was acquired this week by Access Intelligence, LLC, a business-to-business media and information company headquartered in Rockville, Md., serving the chemical, defense, satellite, aviation, cable, telecommunications, media and public relations markets. The acquisition comes roughly three months after Ed Helminski, the founder of ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums, passed […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Former DOE Deputy Secretary’s New Spot at Centrus Energy Raises Concern on Capitol Hill
Kenneth Fletcher and Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The appointment of former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman as the new President and CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. is causing concerns among some on Capitol Hill. During Poneman’s tenure at DOE, the Department played a big role in plans by the company, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA Awards OST Support Services Contracts to Three Small Businesses
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration awarded a trio of Office of Secure Transportation support services contracts to small business-led teams last month. The NNSA last year decided to break the OST support services contracts into three different vehicles for Training Support Services, Administration Support Services, and Logistics and Fleet Management […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
CNO Seeking to Find Specific Vehicle to Fund Ohio-Class Replacement
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Will the Navy fund the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) through its shipbuilding budget, through a separate Navy fund, or through the larger Defense Department account? Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert on March 10 told Senators he wants to find a specific vehicle to appropriate money toward the Sea-Based Deterrence […]
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Warhead & Weapons Development
‘Problem’ With High Explosive Driving W88 Warhead CHE Refresh
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 A decision to replace the conventional high explosive (CHE) in the W88 warhead as part of a planned alteration was largely driven by a “problem” with the warhead rather than timing and workforce issues, Nuclear Weapons Council Chairman Frank Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee last week. […]
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International
State Dept. Official: Russian Defense Policy Poses Challenge to Disarmament
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 A “new Russian security doctrine” which “explicitly reprioritizes” nuclear forces poses a direct challenge to bilateral disarmament efforts, but the U.S. remains open to engaging Russia on a range of issues affecting strategic stability, according to Tom Countryman, Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation. “We’re also realistic […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Uranium Strategy Completed by Y-12 Contractor; MAR Reduction Efforts Underway
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration wants Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security to double the rate of purified metal production in Building 9212 in an effort to reduce the Material at Risk (MAR) in the aging facility. Eventually, Building 9212’s capabilities will be replaced as part of the Uranium Processing Facility […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Electric Boat Earns Another Contract Mod Involving Ohio-Class Replacement Work
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded Electric Boat a $24.3 million modification to a November 2010 sole-source submarine research and development contract, according to a March 6 Defense Department announcement. The modification will involve engineering and technical design services to support research and development of advanced submarine technologies, to […]
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Non-Proliferation
Last Remaining Observer Group at Conference on Disarmament Abandons U.N. Forum
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Interest in the Conference on Disarmament has waned in recent years as progress on disarmament issues has stagnated, and one of the last remaining observers of the forum is calling it quits. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and its disarmament programme Reaching Critical Will said this […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Y-12/Pantex Contractor Addresses Benefits Concerns
Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security has acknowledged that implementation of benefit changes at Y-12 and Pantex has not gone as planned or hoped, but a top official recently sent a message to thousands of workers promising to address their complaints and make things better. Morgan Smith, the contractor’s chief operating officer, said […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Pantex
Pantex Changing Procedures After Technician Receives ‘Higher Than Anticipated’ Dose NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The Pantex Plant is bolstering its procedures after an instrument technician was exposed to a “higher than anticipated” radiation dose while doing maintenance work in a nuclear materials storage building. The unidentified worker was exposed Jan. 23 while performing maintenance in a Special […]
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National Laboratories
At Sandia
Sandia Finalizes a Pair of Management Changes NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Sandia National Laboratories recently finalized a pair of management changes, naming Marianne Walck the head of its California campus and appointing James Peery as its new vice president for defense research. In addition to heading up Sandia’s Livermore, Calif. Laboratory, Walck will also lead the […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Oak Ridge
Y-12 Contractor Adjusts Some UPF Design Contracts NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 As the design work on the Uranium Processing Facility transitions to management under Bechtel National via a subcontract with Consolidated Nuclear Security, there have been changes in the workload of the teams participating in the project’s four Basic Ordering Agreements, with some of the companies […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap Up
NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 IN THE NNSA Deputy Energy Secretary Liz Sherwood-Randall made her first trip to the Savannah River Site in her current position last week, quietly visiting a variety of facilities. Among the stops on Sherwood-Randall’s tour was the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, which is the subject of a pair of reviews while […]