Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise is entering a “fourth age of deterrence,” marking a shift from post-Cold War stewardship toward large-scale modernization and production.
Speaking May 5 before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis described the current era as one driven by geopolitical competition, weapons modernization and expanded mission demands across the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), local publication Los Alamos Reporter reporter recently.
The Davis presentation is posted online.
Davis divided modern nuclear history into four periods: the Manhattan Project and early Cold War buildup; the larger Cold War production era; the post-Cold War stockpile stewardship period after the end of underground testing; and the current modernization phase.
The remarks reflect increasingly direct messaging from senior weapons officials about the urgency surrounding modernization efforts as the United States responds to China’s nuclear expansion and Russia’s strategic posture.
Los Alamos has become central to those efforts through its plutonium pit production mission. LANL is expected to produce at least 30 pits annually later this decade as part of NNSA’s broader plan to restore industrial-scale pit manufacturing capability.
Davis suggested demands on the laboratory could continue growing. “We’ve been asked to do more,” he said.
NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams similarly said at Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit in January that the agency is embracing a “culture of urgency” and “production mindset.”
“NNSA is no longer defined solely as a scientific stewardship organization. We are an organization focused on weapons production, on delivering real capabilities and innovations at speed to meet today’s threats,” Williams said.