Vol. 29, No. 10 
Top Senate Democrat Schumer backs CR over government shutdown
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Northrop Grumman does “static fire test” on Sentinel ICBM
The U.S. Air Force said that the service and Northrop Grumman conducted “a full-scale qualification static fire test of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile stage-one solid rocket motor” on March 6 at the company’s site in Promontory, Utah. Northrop Grumman is building the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to replace the Minuteman III ICBM […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Federal attendance down, anxiety up annual Waste Management
PHOENIX —After layoffs and buyouts and the possibility of a government shutdown, the Department of Energy presence was lighter than usual at the annual Waste Management Symposia here. The buzz at a Sunday night reception here was that while DOE and its nuclear cleanup arm typically sends around 200 people, this year’s contingent was closer […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Bechtel appoints Dena Volovar to head nuclear subsidiary
Contractor Bechtel announced Monday it appointed Dena Volovar as the new president of its Nuclear, Security & Energy business. Volovar succeeds John Howanitz, who will retire in April after 42 years at Bechtel, according to the company press release. Volovar’s tenure at Bechtel extends 26 years, most recently as executive vice president and manager of […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Australian government publishes new AUKUS sub strategy
The Australian government published a new submarine strategy March 7 that called for investing $19 billion over 30 years to support future AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines with a domestic industrial base. “The scale, complexity and technology requirements of the program also mean the Australian Submarine Industrial Base will need to work with trusted United Kingdom and […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
Senators want NRC to prioritize update of environmental reviews, Wright agrees
A bipartisan group of four Senators last week urged Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright to prioritize streamlining the agency’s environmental reviews as called for under 2023 legislation. “We encourage the Commission to vote in a manner that fully reflects congressional intent to streamline the NRC’s licensing process, as directed in the Accelerating Deployment of […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Hoeven wants Air Force budget updates for various projects
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) wants the Air Force to ensure that its upcoming 2026 budget has funds to update weapons storage for the future AGM-181 long-range standoff nuclear-tipped missile, as well as for the intercontinental ballistic missile bases. The budget would also need to ensure that the service upgrades its three intercontinental ballistic missile bases […]
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National Laboratories
Laura McGill named next Sandia Lab director
Laura McGill will be Sandia National Laboratories’ 17th director effective May 1, following the retirement of James Peery at the end of April. McGill has worked as the deputy laboratories director for Nuclear Deterrence at Sandia, as well as chief technology officer, since January 2021, according to a press release on Sandia’s website. She will […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Colorado’s Walsh nominated to head Environmental Management
The Donald Trump administration is nominating Timothy John Walsh of Colorado to become the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, according to an entry in Monday’s Congressional Record. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is also from Colorado. If confirmed, Walsh would be the first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for environmental management (EM-1) since Anne Marie […]
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Non-Proliferation
Wrap up: NNSA partners with Pentagon and FBI; NNSA uranium contract notice; Trump and Iran nuclear deal; Senate Foreign Relations ranking member retiring; Obituary
The National Nuclear Security Administration partnered with other government agencies to conduct an exercise on how a team would gather evidence to support the president make decisions in a nuclear attack scenario. The Prominent Hunt exercise series, which the recent exercise was part of, took place Jan. 26 to 31 around Schenectady, N.Y., the Pentagon […]