Vol. 22, No. 34 
Top HASC Dem Says U.S. Wants to Buy Too Many New ICBMs
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Plutonium Pit Production
Heller Rages Over NNSA Plan to Store Defense Plutonium in Nevada
Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) this week demanded the Department of Energy conduct additional environmental reviews before sending any defense plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site from the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. In December 2017, a federal judge ordered DOE to move not less than 1 metric ton of defense plutonium out of […]
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Budget & Policy
DOE, Industry Crossing Fingers for Real Appropriations Bill With 12 Legislative Days Left in FY18
HENDERSON, Nev. — Department of Energy officials and industry executives expressed hope Wednesday that no last-minute snags hold up passage of a fiscal 2019 budget with healthy funding for the agency’s nuclear weapons programs. “Who wants to do layoffs in an election year?” Eric Knox, vice president of strategic development, nuclear and environment, for the […]
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Budget & Policy
Inhofe Gets SASC Gavel, Kyl to Fill McCain’s Senate Seat
The shape of the Capitol Hill defense establishment in the post-John McCain era formally gelled Wednesday, as Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) became chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and former Arizona senator Jon Kyl was sworn in to serve the remainder of the McCain’s term. McCain died on Aug. 25 after ceasing treatment for brain cancer. […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Further Environmental Review of UPF Still Not Needed, NNSA Says
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reaffirmed Tuesday that, despite public comments and even a federal lawsuit that say otherwise, it does not need to perform another environmental review of the Uranium Processing Facility being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency “has determined, at […]
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Budget & Policy
Lawmakers Rail Against DNFSB Downsizing, Defanging
Members of Congress this week voiced their displeasure about a planned downsizing of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and with a Department of Energy order that some, including the board itself, fear will lock the federal agency out of much of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. “In light of the many concerns with the […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Columbia Sub In Good Shape, But May Require More Oversight, CNO Says
By Rich Abott Defense Daily The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine is currently in good shape but the program has little room for error and may require tighter oversight, the Chief of Naval Operations said on Wednesday. “I say [the program is] on track and that’s true, but it is right on track. And so we need […]
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Non-Proliferation
Cyber, Terrorism Risks Surrounding Nuclear Facilities and Materials Rising, U.S. NGO Says
Fewer countries have nuclear weapon-usable nuclear materials, but the risk of nuclear terrorism and cyber attacks on nuclear facilities has increased, the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative said this week in its latest biennial report on global nuclear threats. The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) published its 2018 Nuclear Security Index on Wednesday. The organization crafted the 132-page […]
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Contracts & Procurement
BWXT Promotes COO to Lead Technical Services Group
Lynchburg, Va.-based BWX Technologies said Wednesday it has promoted Heatherly H. Dukes to the position of president of the company’s Technical Services Group. Dukes has most recently served as the group’s chief operating officer, overseeing BWXT operations at more than a dozen Energy Department and NASA facilities with an annual contract value of about $7 […]