Vol. 24, No. 09 
$20B Budget Would ‘Choke’ NNSA, Skeptical House Approps Cardinal Says
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Warhead & Weapons Development
STRATCOM Commander ‘Proud’ of W93, Won’t Say Much Else About It
WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. nuclear forces would not be drawn into a discussion on details of the planned W93 sea-based warhead in an open hearing Thursday, stoically deflecting questions from a curious lawmaker and declaring the planned weapon makes him “proud to be an American.” “I think that is one of those things […]
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Life Extension Programs
ICBM Fuse Program Faces Delays From Capacitor Issue
Complications with two nuclear-weapon refurbishment programs might delay production of new intercontinental ballistic missile fuses at the Kansas City National Security Campus by more than a year, Pentagon budget documents show. The Air Force will need 10 months longer than expected, 41 months total, to purchase long-lead parts for the the ICBM Fuze Modernization program: […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Some W87 Warheads Will Go on New ICBM Without New Pits
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Pentagon plan deploy W87-0 warheads, without new plutonium pit cores, on some Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missiles missiles. The plan, confirmed Thursday through an NNSA spokesperson, could give the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapon agency more time to get a pair of planned pit factories up […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Seeks to Cut Funding for Cleanup of Excess NNSA Facilities in 2021
As the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) seeks a larger-than-expected budget increase for 2021, another branch of the Department of Energy is seeking much less funding for cleanup of excess nuclear-weapon production sites The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is requesting about $200 million for remediation at NNSA-owned facilities in the budget year beginning Oct. 1, […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
NNSA to Start Preparations for Future South Carolina Plutonium Disposal
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it plans to soon start work on a South Carolina plutonium disposal project — operations that will consume about one-third of the amount Congress appropriated for the project in the current 2020 federal budget year. This site preparation work for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition project at the […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Federal Court Officially Dismisses MOX Termination Suit
In a housecleaning move to continue wrapping up legal issues surrounding the terminated plutonium recycling plant at the Savannah River Site, a federal judge in South Carolina last week officially dismissed a 2018 state lawsuit against the Department of Energy. In the two-page decision filed on Feb. 20, District Judge J. Michelle Childs wrote that […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
BWXT Naval Nukes Help Power 2019 Earnings
Energy Department contractor BWX Technologies took in $501 million of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2019, a 5% uptick over $478 million a year earlier. In addition, the Lynchburg, Va.-based company reported late Monday that revenue of nearly $1.9 billion for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 set a new record and represented a […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Bechtel, Kratos Get Spots on Northrop Grumman’s GBSD Team
Northrop Grumman tapped Bechtel National and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to provide construction services and specialized transportation equipment for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile production program the aerospace giant hopes to win this summer. Northrop Grumman is the only bidder for the estimated $25 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract to […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Vehicle Activates Explosive Detectors at Savannah River Site
The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina enacted an emergency response early this week when a vehicle attempting to enter a secure area activated explosive detection systems. Site barricades remained open through the duration of the emergency response Tuesday morning and there was “no indication of a consequence beyond the Savannah River […]