Vol. 24, No. 05 
First Low-Yield Navy Warhead Went to Sea in December, Analysts Say
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Brouillette Appoints Personal Nuclear Security Adviser, Creates New DOE-Wide Policy Shop
Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette is establishing a new office to manage “all policy within the Department,” and appointing a new personal adviser for nuclear security, according to an all-hands memo dated Tuesday. To do this, Brouillette will rebrand the current Office of Policy (OP) as the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy (OSSP), which […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Final Sale of AECOM Govt. Contracting Business Imminent
International engineering and construction provider AECOM appears poised to complete the $2.4 billion sale of its government contracting division to a joint venture of two New York investment firms, a company official said Tuesday. Eric Knox, AECOM vice president for strategic development for nuclear and environment, cited the impending change during a panel discussion at […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
NNSA Plans to Take Some Portsmouth DUF6 for Weapons Programs
The National Nuclear Security Administration has decided to use a cleanup facility in Ohio to help produce high-purity depleted uranium metal for nuclear weapons programs. The semiautonomous Department of Energy weapons agency will do that by installing a fourth process line at the depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion facility at the Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio, […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico Lawmakers Call on DOE to Suspend Order 140.1
New Mexico’s entire congressional delegation this month called on the Department of Energy to suspend a controversial order that the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) says has curtailed its access to nuclear-weapon sites. The Energy Department… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
DNFSB Hiring Practices ‘Ineffective and ‘Inefficient,’ Inspector General Says
A new inspector general’s report bashed the human resources department at the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board as ineffective, inefficient, and incapable of supporting the agency’s oversight of defense-nuclear sites. The board’s “human resources program is currently not designed and implemented to effectively support the execution of its mission,” reads a report issued this […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Details Scarce on Savannah River Conversion of HEU From Canada
The Department of Energy is not publicly discussing the progress of conversion of highly enriched uranium shipped from Canada at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, including whether the project remains on track to be completed in April. Multiple questions sent via email last week to the department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) […]
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National Laboratories
Ex-LANL Physicist Takes Plea Deal in Chinese Recruitment Case
A former physicist at the U.S. Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on Friday pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal authorities about his alleged connection to a Chinese government-sponsored talent recruiting program. Turab Lookman, formerly of the New Mexico facility’s Theoretical Division, pleaded guilty to the second of three counts of fraud and […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Northrop Earnings Healthy Despite 4Q Charge; Boeing Posts Huge Losses Amid Fixes to Fatal 737 Issues
Northrop Grumman swung to a loss in its fourth quarter due to a change it adopted a year ago in accounting for pension and other post-retirement benefits, but its adjusted earnings were well above consensus estimates, the company reported this week. Also this week,… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You […]
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Contracts & Procurement
General Dynamics Posts Strong Earnings In Fourth Quarter
Led by its aerospace business, General Dynamics on Wednesday reported strong fourth-quarter earnings on solid sales. Management said it expects continued growth in 2020. The Reston, Va.-based company, whose subsidiary, General Dynamics Electric Boat, is the prime contractor on the Navy’s next-generation Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines, also signaled an improved outlook in cash collections that will […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Lockheed Caps Record 2019, Bolsters Earnings Forecast for 2020
Lockheed Martin on Tuesday reported a strong close to 2019 with double-digit sales and profit growth, and the company expects further gains in 2020. The company’s net income in the fourth quarter jumped 15% to $1.5 billion, or $5.29 per share, from $1.3 billion, or $4.39 a share, a year ago. That was comfortably above […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Norfolk Shipyard Begins $200M Dry Dock Renovation
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) held a groundbreaking on Jan. 23 to renovate Dry Dock 4. The U.S. Navy said the renovation effort will cost $200 million and take almost three years. This makes it the largest NNSY initiative under the larger $21 billion 20-year Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). The Navy said this renovation will […]