Vol. 21, No. 30 
House Sustains NNSA Weapons Activities Funding in Appropriations Bills
-
Contracts & Procurement
Los Alamos County Unhappy with Draft LANL Management Contract RFP
The County of Los Alamos, N.M., is unhappy with the Energy Department’s plans for the follow-on management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The comments were included in an email to DOE signed by David Izraelevitz, chair of the Los Alamos County Council, also on behalf of the body’s vice chair and several […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Manager Announces Incoming Nevada Site Leadership
Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS), the contractor newly chosen to run the Nevada National Security Site, has announced its incoming leadership team as it proceeds with transition activities at the facility. Two veterans of Department of Energy national laboratories will take the top spots at the Nevada facility: Mark Martinez is the incoming site […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Six Months In, Trump’s DNFSB Leans Democratic
The Donald Trump administration is close to a mostly Republican Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but is still operating with a Democratic-leaning Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The White House in January began an ideological shift at both five-member groups, but the NRC, which regulates commercial nuclear power plants and civilian nuclear waste, is further along in its […]
-
International
STRATCOM Commander Wary of ‘Tit-for-Tat’ Response to Russian INF Violation
A “tit-for-tat” response to Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty may not be the best option for the United States, Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters during the Deterrence Symposium in Omaha, Neb. U.S. officials have concluded that Russia deployed a ground-launched nuclear-capable […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
SRS Facilities Halt Nuclear Material Receipts
Two interconnected facilities at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina have stopped receiving nuclear materials due to growing infrastructure problems that could have significant consequences in the event of an earthquake. A newly released report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board noted the suspension of nuclear materials receipts at H […]
-
Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Air Force Having ‘Aggressive Dialogue’ With Congress on Upcoming Bomber Plan
Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force is consulting closely with lawmakers on the bomber roadmap that it plans to unveil in September, the service’s top general said July 26. “We’re in the process right now of doing something that we’ve been accused in the past of not doing really well, and that is […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
Northrop Reports $6.4B in Sales for 2Q
Northrop Grumman on Wednesday reported increases in both revenue and net earnings for the second quarter of 2017. Sales landed at $6.4 billion in sales in the quarter, up by 6 percent from $6 billion during the same quarter of last year. The defense-contracting giant also brought in earnings of $552 million, up by 7 percent from […]
-
High-Level & Tank Waste
Advisory Board Objects to Nuclear Waste Storage at SRS
A local advisory board this week voiced its opposition to using the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina for interim storage of nuclear waste, but could not come to agreement on a request for DOE to prohibit shipments to the facility of highly enriched uranium from Germany. The Energy Department should […]
-
Defense & Military
U.S. Strategic Command Consolidating Component Commands
Marc Selinger Defense Daily U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) is streamlining its component structure by consolidating 18 component commands into four, the head of STRATCOM said July 26. Under the reorganization, one component command will be responsible for all air and missile capabilities, while the others will oversee maritime forces, missile defense and space, said Air Force […]
-
Budget & Policy
GAO Examines Nuclear Modernization Affordability in DOD, DOE Budgets
The Departments of Energy and Defense should better explain their 10-year nuclear deterrent modernization budget estimates and address future affordability concerns, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly released report. The GAO examined the DOD and DOE’s fiscal 2017 joint report, which places the total cost of the two Cabinet agencies’ nuclear modernization plans […]
-
Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Wrap Up: Former NNSA Chief Joins NuScale Power Board of Directors
Tom D’Agostino, former administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has joined the board of directors of small modular reactor company NuScale Power, the company announced Monday. D’Agostino, who served as head of the NNSA from 2007 to 2013, replaces former board member Dave Dunning, NuScale said in a press release. He has been with […]