Vol. 30, No. 4

Plutonium Pit Production

Director says LANL exceeds pit production objectives

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos National Laboratory “exceeded all” objectives for producing the fissile cores of the nation’s nuclear weapons, the lab’s director Thom Mason told the Exchange Monitor Monday… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to […]
  • Life Extension Programs

    W80-5 “just came up,” will go on SLCM-N, weapons directors say

    ARLINGTON, VA – The W80-5, a new variant of the W80 warhead family, is on a “more aggressive schedule” to go on the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N), weapons directors said on the final day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. Rita… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be […]

  • Plutonium Pit Production

    NNSA No. 2 committed to a “two-site solution” for pits, needs SRS support

    ARLINGTON, VA – Scott Pappano, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said Tuesday that Savannah River can still play a “supporting role” in pit production between now and the completion of its pit production… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]

  • Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

    NNSA shifting to a “culture of urgency” and “production mindset”

    ARLINGTON, VA – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is embracing a culture of urgency and shifting from a scientific to production mindset, according to Administrator Brandon Williams Tuesday in his day 2 keynote at Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]

  • Budget & Policy

    Senate blocks funds as shutdown looms, Cramer cites desire to fund gov

    ARLINGTON, VA – Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit Wednesday there was a “pretty cohesive desire” to finish funding the government, but “whether we get it done by Friday” he was unsure. Friday, Jan. 30 is the… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged […]

  • Contracts & Procurement

    NNSA should approach contracting differently, Pappano says

    ARLINGTON, VA – The second-highest person at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday he is “absolutely considering contracting differently.” Scott Pappano, NNSA’s principal deputy administrator, gave a keynote on the second day… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to view this […]

  • Contracts & Procurement

    NNSA issues draft RFP for Savannah River Site ops

    The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex. According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, […]

  • Stockpile Stewardship

    NNSA completes 13 tritium extractions in nine months, new record

    The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed a record of 13 tritium extractions between fiscal 2025 and 2026, the agency said Jan. 23. This extraction amount was completed in nine months, the agency’s press… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]

  • Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

    Centrus prepares to expand Oak Ridge manufacturing plant

    Centrus Energy plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. at an investment of more than $560 million, according to the company’s Jan. 23 press release. The Bethesda, Md.-based uranium broker said the expansion of the Oak Ridge manufacturing plant… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be […]

  • Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

    BWXT opens Oak Ridge centrifuge manufacturing plant

    BWX Technologies said Monday it has opened its Centrifuge Manufacturing Development in Oak Ridge, Tenn., supporting national defense-focused uranium enrichment for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).  BWXT, based in Lynchburg,… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to view this […]

  • Data Centers & Energy Demand

    Supporting host communities key to data center success, NDS told

    ARLINGTON, VA – To garner support for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers on federal land, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) should “state its value propositions” early on, Senior Director at Microsoft Federal Bryan Lopez said… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to […]

  • Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

    LEU, not HALEU, drives current enrichment market

    ARLINGTON, VA – Centrus Energy has signed contracts worth $2.3 billion to provide low-enriched uranium to electric utilities and virtually all of it involves traditional LEU rather than the high-assay-low-enriched uranium (HALEU) Centrus CEO Amir Vexler said… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber […]

  • Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

    USAF considers modular missile silos for Sentinel, Cramer says new silos “well settled”

    ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Air Force is considering modular missile silos to house the service’s future LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by Northrop Grumman, while using the same locations as the previous siloes. “My understanding… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber […]

  • Innovation & Infrastructure

    Kiewit exec: NNSA infrastructure must be overhauled swiftly, safely

    ARLINGTON, VA -The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its contractors must modernize key infrastructure quickly, a Kiewit Nuclear executive said here Monday. “We are at an inflection point,” Mike Rinehart,… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to view […]

  • Innovation & Infrastructure

    Charles Ball appointed head of AI, Genesis Mission at NNSA

    ARLINGTON, VA – Charles Ball was named the lead for the Genesis Mission at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency’s head Brandon Williams said Tuesday in his keynote at Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. The Genesis Mission… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as […]

  • Naval Nuclear Propulsion

    Bechtel receives $812 million naval nuclear propulsion contract

    A Bechtel subsidiary received a $812 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for naval nuclear propulsion components by the Navy, according to the Jan. 21 contracts list on the Pentagon website. Bechtel Plant Machinery, based in Monroeville, Penn., is a prime contractor… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as […]

  • Cleanup & Remediation

    With study done, Wyka says Los Alamos working with tribes

    ARLINGTON, VA – The site-wide environmental impact statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory powerline is done, the lab’s field office manager told the Exchange Monitor Monday on the first day of the Nuclear Deterrence Summit. Ted Wyka, field office manager… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in […]

  • Data Centers & Energy Demand

    RFP for Savannah River data centers closed, proposals being assessed

    ARLINGTON, VA – Proposals are being assessed for contractors looking to build and power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at Savannah River Site, the site’s field manager said in a panel on a snowy first day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged […]

  • Non-Proliferation

    Doomsday Clock ticks to 85 seconds to midnight, 4 seconds closer to catastrophe

    The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic device the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists uses to signify closeness to “global catastrophe” set another record closeness to midnight as of Tuesday. “A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged […]

  • Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

    Wrap up: NNSA not consulted on SLCM-N for Trump-class battleships; NNSA aerial flight assessment of Super Bowl; Babcock CEO retiring; Minuteman III convoy

    Kim Budil, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said the Donald Trump administration did not consult the lab or the National Nuclear Security Administration on using the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) in the future Trump-class… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to […]

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