Vol. 29, No. 15 Letters to Secretary Wright criticize cuts to funds, request workforce numbers
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Defense & Military
STRATCOM looking into strategic impacts of Golden Dome, commander says
U.S. Strategic Command is looking into potential impacts of President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense to the nation’s nuclear deterrence, the commander said in a fiscal 2026 Strategic Forces Posture hearing April 9. “We’re looking at some of the things that came from the SDI [Strategic Defense Initiative] initiatives, some of the talking points, […]
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Life Extension Programs
B61-13 ‘significantly ahead of schedule,’ NNSA tells Fox News
The National Nuclear Security Administration will complete the First Production Unit of the B61-13 this fiscal year, according to Fox News April 9. With production complete in December for the B61-12 life extension program, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has now transitioned to producing the B61-13 gravity bomb, a new, higher-yield variant of the […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
BWXT acquires land for domestic uranium enrichment, NNSA signals intent for sole-source
BWX Technologies announced Tuesday it acquired 97 acres of land in Oak Ridge, Tenn. with the goal of rebuilding domestic uranium enrichment capabilities by manufacturing centrifuges. According to the emailed press release, the land acquisition would support DOE and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) deployment of Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) technology. […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Sentinel to have new silos, Air Force leaders tell town halls
The Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile is to have new silos, U.S. Air Force leaders told community leaders during town halls in Kimball, Neb. and Pine Bluffs, Wyo. early April. The Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has a significantly larger design than its predecessor 1960s-era Minuteman missile series, including the Boeing-made Minuteman III. […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Trump administration support for Nuclear Triad may lead to Sentinel reprieve
The Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile may get a reprieve from President Donald Trump’s executive order as DoD re-baselined the program last year after a six-month Nunn-McCurdy review. President Donald Trump’s April 9 executive order, Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base, speaks of cancellations of Major Defense […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
New SSBN 12-18 months late but trying to recover partial time, Navy tells lawmakers
A Navy official told a panel of senators last week that the lead Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine is currently running 12 to 18 months late, but they are trying to recover some of that delay time. In a written statement for the Senate Armed Services Seapower subcommittee hearing April 8, program executive officers for the […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
DIU selects eight possible companies for advanced microreactor program
The Defense Innovation Unit announced April 10 next steps in its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program to deploy microreactor nuclear systems for power reliability at select military locations. The companies selected are: Antares Nuclear BWXT Advanced Technologies General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Kairos Power Oklo Radiant Industries Incorporated Westinghouse Government Services X-energy These companies are […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
City of Oak Ridge reworking airport plans given Orano project
The city of Oak Ridge, Tenn., is studying alternative sites for a municipal airport with land cleaned up by the Department of Energy now earmarked by Orano USA for a major uranium enrichment project. Although a local airport has been long sought by the city of Oak Ridge, Exchange Monitor reported in October 2024 it […]
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Defense Low-Level Waste
EnergySolutions secures U.S. Department of Navy waste management contracts
EnergySolutions announced in a Tuesday press release it was awarded two government contracts that assist in nuclear waste management across prominent Naval sites in the United States. The Utah-based nuclear company was awarded new U.S. Navy Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts that support waste management operations across numerous Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program sites. IDIQ […]
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International
Wrap up: Iran-U.S. nuclear talks Round 2 in Rome; Trump extends hiring freeze; Ukraine seeks European Bank help in repairing Chernobyl vessel; more
Iran and the U.S. are set up to have a second round of nuclear talks this weekend in Rome, media reported. While Iran and the U.S. said the talks in Oman last weekend were “positive” and “constructive,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters Wednesday that allowing Iran to continue enriching uranium is “non-negotiable,” according […]