Vol. 29, No. 44 
DOE spokesperson: Trump not scheduled to meet with DOE, NNSA on nuclear testing
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Sites, technology studied for Janus military microreactor program
The Army and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) are requesting bids to provide nuclear power plant energy solutions that would be demonstrated on a military installation within the U.S. by 2030. The goal of the effort, named the Janus program, is to develop prototype Microreactor Power Plants (MPPs) to provide power to “installations and non-permanent operations” […]
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Budget & Policy
DOE undergoes reorganization under Chris Wright
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Thursday announced reorganization of the Department of Energy with a prominent role in the organizational chart for the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The reorganization is designed “to strengthen DOE’s ability to execute President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance,” Wright said in a press release. “This […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA awards Anduril $140 million contract for counter-drone systems
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded California-based defense technology company Anduril with a $140 million contract to procure counter uncrewed aircraft systems (CUAS) on four sites, a procurement notice site said last week. CUAS is a capability used to detect and neutralize hostile drone threats with airspace security and sensors, usually. The indefinite […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Electric Boat nabs $2.3 billion contract for advance procurement of Columbia-class subs
The Navy on Monday awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $2.28 billion cost-only modification covering additional advance procurement and advance construction of five more Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine hulls. The contract announcement noted this award also supports additional program execution in accordance with a Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement focused on “Obligations in Advance of […]
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Non-Proliferation
Remote sensing could help fill void in nuclear inspections, report says
Government and commercial imagery could help fill a void in on-site nuclear inspections, given the upcoming lapse in the New Strategic Arms Reduction (New START) Treaty protocol next February, a new report by the Federation of American Scientists said. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a nonproliferation-focused nonprofit founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists, […]
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National Laboratories
New pro-nuclear group makes presence known in New Mexico
A new pro-nuclear group in New Mexico has emerged and seeks to play a role in the state’s transition towards clean energy with nuclear power. The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance, founded in July, is a non-partisan membership organization that operates out of Santa Fe, N.M. The new group has partnered with the Carlsbad N.M. Department […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
SC high court: Attorneys in Savannah River MOX case entitled to $75M
The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the lawyers who successfully sued the Department of Energy over the Savannah River Site’s mismanaged Mixed Oxide (MOX) plutonium facility are entitled to $75 million of the $600 million settlement the state received. The ruling was issued last Wednesday Nov. 12. South Carolina has litigation against DOE dating to […]
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News & Analysis
Ex-DOE offshore wind staffer to lead DOE Alumni Network
Jocelyn Brown-Saracino, who spent 15 years with the Department of Energy, has been selected to head the DOE Alumni Network, Tarak Shah, former DOE chief of staff during the Joe Biden administration, announced last week on LinkedIn. “Having gotten to know Jocelyn over this search process, I am SO excited that she is going to […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP records 45 waste shipments in October
While much of the government was shut down, the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico stayed open and received 45 waste shipments in October based upon figures from DOE’s public website for the disposal site. That’s a drop from the 61 shipments the plant received a month prior in September […]
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Non-Proliferation
No ruling yet on appeal in Diana Toebbe nuclear espionage case
Diana Toebbe, the wife in the husband-and-wife duo sentenced for conspiracy charges related to nuclear warships, has an appeal pending in a West Virginia federal district court, a document says. Diana and her husband Jonathan Toebbe, a naval nuclear engineer in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, are a Maryland couple sentenced in 2022 for allegedly […]
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International
Wrap up: Trump and MBS sign civil nuclear agreement; IAEA says ZNPP has power again, needs visibility with Iran; Uranium Film Festival this weekend
In a series of agreements, President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman finalized and signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, according to a White House fact sheet released Tuesday. The Joint Declaration on the Completion of Negotiations on Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation, as it is called, cements a “civil” nuclear energy partnership […]
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News & Analysis
Publication notice
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published on Friday Nov. 28. Exchange Monitor Publications will not be staffed Nov. 27 or Nov. 28. Enjoy your holiday. Your next weekly publication will be on Friday Dec. 5.