Vol. 29, No. 25 
Analyst: Iran’s nuclear program will value “stealth, not speed,” many facilities left standing
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Warhead & Weapons Development
UPF enters last construction phase, energizes final building
The National Nuclear Security Administration transitioned into the final stage of construction at the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the agency announced Tuesday. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. Once construction is complete, UPF will […]
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Non-Proliferation
Amid Iran rift, former NNSA Nuclear Nonproliferation head: Don’t cut nonproliferation funds
Corey Hinderstein, the former National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation during the Joe Biden administration, said increasing weapons and slashing nonproliferation spending in the budget is a “recipe for national security failure.” “Cutting nonproliferation funding would be lose-lose: harming programs with valuable near-term threat-reduction benefits and making deterrence less sustainable for […]
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International
Senators introduce bipartisan bill to streamline AUKUS collaboration
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill aimed at streamlining defense industrial base collaboration with Australia and the United Kingdom. for the AUKUS submarine technology sharing agreement. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee, and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) introduced the AUKUS Improvement Act last week to exempt […]
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Budget & Policy
Energysec pleads for Senate to confirm more DOE lieutenants
Energy Secretary Chris Wright used an appearance before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week to plead for the upper chamber to confirm more DOE nominees. “If I can ask one thing for the whole senate is please help confirm my people,” Wright said during a hearing last week on the DOE budget […]
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Transuranic Waste
GAO finds WIPP still needs plenty of infrastructure work
Half of the key assets the Department of Energy needs to dispose of defense-related transuranic waste in a New Mexico salt mine were in “substandard or inadequate condition in 2023,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Tuesday. In a report to congressional committees, GAO said DOE’s Office of Environmental Management should do a better job […]
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Defense & Military
Kelly pushes Hegseth on Golden Dome reality, cutting Pentagon testers
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on June 18 expressed skepticism that the wide-ranging Golden Dome missile defense initiative is realistic, and also questioned the wisdom of planned cuts to the Pentagon’s top weapons testing office. In a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kelly told Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that getting the system to […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap up: NNSA NEST continues low-alt flights over Las Vegas; Wicker releases reconciliation updates; Gaetz says Israel should give up their nukes too; Obituary
The National Nuclear Security Administration will conduct helicopter flights at low-altitude over Las Vegas for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, the agency said on its website with aims to alert the public of low-flying aircraft to avoid alarm. NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team’s (NEST) aerial measuring system (AMS) aircraft, a Leonardo AW139 helicopter […]