Vol. 21, No. 7 
Trump Administration Crafting Nuclear Policy Amid Uncertainty Over Arms Control – Day 25 of 100
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Non-Proliferation
Trump’s Arms Control Approach Still Unknown: Countryman
President Donald Trump has yet to lay out a straightforward message regarding his approach to nuclear arms control, but any pullback from the U.S.-Russian New START accord could be unfortunate at best, according to Thomas Countryman, who last month ended his decades-long career at the State Department as the agency’s top arms control official. “So […]
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Non-Proliferation
Congress Takes Aim at Russian INF Violation, CTBTO Funding
Republicans in both houses of Congress on Thursday introduced legislation intended to press Russia to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, following reports that the nation has deployed a new cruise missile in contravention of the accord. The Intermediate-Range Forces Treaty Preservation Act, from Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), […]
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Budget & Policy
CBO Estimates Nuclear Force Operations, Modernization Costs at $400B Over Decade
Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily The projected cost to operate, maintain, and modernize America’s nuclear forces during the next 10 years is $400 billion, an average of $40 billion annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO’s new estimate of nuclear force plans for the departments of Defense and Energy is based on fiscal 2017 […]
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Non-Proliferation
21 Nations Pledge to Advance HEU Minimization
The United States and 20 other nations are following through on a pledge made at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit to reduce and eventually end use of nuclear weapon-grade uranium in the civilian sector. The nations laid out a four-part agenda in a Jan. 30 joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency, first reported […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Huntington Ingalls Reports Q4 and Full-Year Increase in Revenue, Operating Income
Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday reported modest revenue and operating income increases for both fourth-quarter and full-year 2016. Specifically, the shipbuilder reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.9 billion, a 0.9 percent increase from the same year-ending period of 2015. Meanwhile, it brought in $7.1 billion in revenue over the full year, up by 0.7 percent from […]
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International
NGOs Pitch Dozens of Opportunities for U.S.-Russian Nuclear Cooperation
The United States and Russia have significant opportunities to collaborate on cleanup of nuclear contamination and the prevention of nuclear terrorism, even as they remain antagonists in other spheres, according to a report issued this week by nongovernmental groups from both nations. The report, “Pathways to Cooperation,” resulted from a February 2016 meeting of experts […]
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Non-Proliferation
Trump Revives Clinton Uranium Deal Claim
President Donald Trump on Thursday revived his widely discredited claim that his campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton, sealed a deal to sell 20 percent of U.S. uranium to Russia while she was secretary of state. Trump emphasized the danger posed by uranium, which at high enrichment levels can power nuclear weapons. “We had Hillary Clinton give […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
S.C. Governor Wants State to File New $100M Claim in MOX Legal Battle
South Carolina’s new governor thinks the state Attorney General’s Office should refile its $100 million plutonium disposition claim against the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, a spokesperson said Attorney General Alan Wilson is still contemplating his next move after a federal judge last week dismissed the state’s monetary claim over DOE’s failure to meet its plutonium […]
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Non-Proliferation
No Word on Canadian HEU Shipments to SRS Following Court Ruling
Mum is the word on when shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) are scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina following a recent federal court decision against environmental groups seeking to block the transports from Canada. “In order to preserve operational security, DOE/NNSA does not comment on planned shipments of nuclear material,” a National […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up: MOX Contractor Issues HVAC Installation RFP
The contractor managing construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina this week issued a request for proposals for a fixed-price subcontract to install HVAC ductwork for the project. CB&I AREVA MOX Services said the subcontract will involve the installation of ductwork, supports, and […]