Vol. 21, No. 17 
U.S. Nuclear Policymaking Advances Despite Personnel, Budget Uncertainty: Day 100 of 100
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
GAO Challenges Long-Term Affordability of NNSA Modernization Programs
The National Nuclear Security Administration may be underestimating the costs of its various weapons modernization programs by up to billions of dollars, raising concerns that some life-extension programs might be underfunded or even deferred, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday. The report said fiscal 2017 budget materials from the semiautonomous Department of Energy […]
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National Laboratories
Sandia Director: Much Left to Offer, Pride in Work as Term Ends
Jill Hruby had no intention of leaving her job as director of the Sandia National Laboratories, but those plans were interrupted by an imminent change in management. Now, for the first time in more than three decades, she is pondering a future that doesn’t include the multi-state Department of Energy research complex. Just days before […]
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National Laboratories
More Work Remains for Nuclear Enterprise Improvements: Panel
The National Nuclear Security Administration has made progress in its governance of the U.S. nuclear security enterprise but will need to take more concrete steps to improve the federal-contractor relationship and reduce bureaucratic burdens, according to a new congressionally mandated report. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Academy of Public […]
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Non-Proliferation
State Dept. Highlights Outreach to Russia over INF Breach
The State Department has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, highlighting in a new report its outreach to Moscow on the matter. The INF Treaty prohibits the fielding of ground-based cruise and ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. U.S. officials have been […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Lockheed Reports $11.1B in 1Q Net Sales
Lockheed Martin Corp. on Tuesday announced net sales of $11.1 billion and net earnings from continuing operations of $763 million for the first quarter of 2017. Net sales increased from $10.4 billion in the same three-month period of 2016, while year-over-year net earnings fell from $806 million. Lockheed subsidiary Sandia Corp., with only a few […]
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Non-Proliferation
U.S. Senate Urged to Reconsider Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
After nearly 20 years, the U.S. Senate must undertake a new review of the potential nonproliferation benefits provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, CTBT Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov wrote in a new commentary in The Diplomat. The 1996 accord is intended to promote nonproliferation […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
BWXT Secures $76.2M Contract for Submarine Missile Tube Assemblies
BWX Technologies on Monday said it had secured a $76.2 million contract to produce more Common Missile Compartment (CMC) tube assemblies for next-generation U.S. and U.K. ballistic missile submarines. This is the third contract the BWXT Nuclear Operations Group has received from Columbia-class vessel prime General Dynamics Electric Boat for the assemblies – the vertical […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
MOX Subcontractor Agrees to Pay $4.6M in False Claims Suit
A company hired to provide specialty steel bars for construction of the MOX facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina has agreed to pay $4.6 million in damages after being accused of supplying “defective steel reinforcing bar,” the Department of Justice said this week. Energy & Process Corp., a Georgia-based supplier […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Northrop Grumman Posts Strong Earnings, Higher Sales In First Quarter
Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily A pension tailwind, lower tax rate, and higher operating income led Northrop Grumman on Wednesday to post strong earnings in its first quarter as sales grew modestly. Net income rose 15 percent to $640 million, $3.63 earnings per share (EPS), from $556 million ($3.03 EPS) a year ago, topping analysts’ expectations by 21 […]
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National Laboratories
Wrap Up: Air Force Global Strike Command Tests Unarmed Minuteman III
U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command airmen from the service’s bases in Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska on Wednesday launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, the Air Force announced. The operational test involved an unarmed ICBM with a single test re-entry vehicle containing a telemetry package, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. […]