Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The U.S. Air Force is considering the replacement of flight control units for the engines on the three-stage Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile by Boeing. The 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), Wyo., the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB, N.D. operate […]

The full Senate is expected to vote Monday evening on whether to confirm Chris Wright as the 17th secretary of energy. Sometime after 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the Senate is expected to vote on Wright, according to a Senate website. Wright is currently the CEO of Liberty Energy, a company that provides services and technology […]

A member of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) appointed by the prior administration confirmed late Friday was asked to resign by the new Donald Trump White House. “Yes, I received an email asking for my resignation by cob [close of business] on January 23, or be terminated from the NWTRB,” Scott Tyler, said […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its work policy to comply with recent White House directives, including getting most employees off telework and back to the office, a spokesperson said last week. “The NRC is working to ensure compliance with the White House’s executive orders and companion guidance, where applicable,” an NRC spokesperson said […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration and environmental plaintiffs settled a lawsuit that could put a pause on plutonium pit production efforts at Savannah River Site if approved. The agreement, made public Jan. 16, would leave Los Alamos National Laboratory as the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) sole pit factory until an environmental impact statement is […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries said Monday it closed its acquisition of the assets of W International, bringing in-house a supplier of submarine structures, modules, and assemblies that struggled to meet the Navy’s needs. Terms of the deal, first announced in early December, were not disclosed. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding-Charleston Operations site in Goose […]

Knoxville-based Management Solutions, a woman-owned Department of Energy contractor, said this week it has acquired KeySource, a company engaged in executive searches and workforce solutions. Management Solutions, which has DOE business at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, announced the acquisition during this week’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit […]

Jacksonville, Fla-based Cadre Holdings, which makes and sells safety gear for nuclear and military markets, recently announced a deal to buy several nuclear brands from a branch of Carr’s Group, plc for £75 million, which translates to roughly $93 million (U.S.). Cadre, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, is buying the Engineering Division, […]

Senate Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) filed motions this week seeking to bring about full Senate votes for President Donald Trump’s nominees to head the Department of Energy and the Department of Interior. Thune filed cloture motions Monday seeking to spark floor votes on Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to be secretary of energy and former […]

A top manager at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina expects upcoming modifications to the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) should help the plant meet its elusive production goals.  When it started hot operations in October 2020, SWPF was expected to treat between four million and six million gallons of salt […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Fluor-led prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is drawing up a “master campus plan” for the 310-square-mile site to present to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The plan, required for NNSA sites, is a major undertaking, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) President and […]

As the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration awaits its marching orders from the President Donald Trump administration, the Los Alamos National Laboratory is now saying it will get to an annual plutonium pit production goal of 30 “ASAP.” Such pits are the triggers for thermonuclear weapons. David Dooley, the associate laboratory director for […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Dennis Carr, the president and CEO of the prime contractor for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina says he is not seeking to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy, although “if asked I would consider it.” “People keep coming up and asking me that,” Carr told Exchange Monitor Tuesday […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — James Peery, director of the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories, told the Exchange Monitor Monday that the W80-4 had its first flight test on the Long Range Standoff Missile last week. Peery spoke with the Monitor after speaking at a panel at the Exchange Monitor’s annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit with Kim […]

Jeff Avery, the No. 2 officer at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, is moving over to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and a corporate official who worked at DOE during the first Donald Trump administration is being detailed to the nuclear cleanup branch in a senior adviser role, according to a […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration is “clear-eyed about the work ahead” with its two-site strategy for plutonium pit production, NNSA’s acting administrator Teresa Robbins told the opening of the 17th annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit Monday. Much work remains over the next decade for NNSA to achieve its goal of […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The scheduled rebaselining process is done at the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., an agency official told the Exchange Monitor here Monday. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages. Audrey Beldio, principal assistant deputy […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — There will likely be a 15 year minimum overlap in silos between the Sentinel and the last Minuteman III, an Air Force Global Strike Command leader said here Monday. “I think 15 years is probably an ambitious estimate,” Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, commander of the 20th Air Force in the Air […]

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are reintroducing a bill to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation (RECA) Act (RECA). A similar bill passed the Senate last session but never made it to a vote in the House of Representatives. On Thursday, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced he and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) […]

The Senate on Friday evening narrowly confirmed Pete Hegseth as the new secretary of defense with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie breaking vote. Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon was approved largely along party lines while three Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), joined all Democrats in […]

Arlington, Va. — Gen. Anthony Cotton, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command is expected to give a fireside chat on the weapons complex during the annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit that begins Monday morning in Arlington, Va. Cotton is one of many players in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the nuclear weapons enterprise […]

Florida-based NextEra Energy said during its fourth quarter earnings report Friday it is shooting for a 2028 restart of its Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa. “Recently, the company filed notice with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to request a licensing change—an important first step in establishing the regulatory pathway to restore the facility’s operating […]

Joel Spangenberg, a career fed who logged several years as a manager around the Department of Energy’s weapons complex, has retired from the federal government and accepted a post with the U.S. branch of a nuclear company based in the United Kingdom. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President […]

The Donald Trump administration is replacing most members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, sources told Exchange Monitor late last week. Two sources within the Department of Energy weapons complex told the Monitor the White House asked for the resignation of nearly all members of the 11-member board charged with independent scientific peer reviews […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: 27 – 29: 17th Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit. Exchange Monitor. Crystal Gateway Marriott. Arlington, Va. Register online. 27-28: Meeting: The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board for the Savannah River Site meets starting at 9 a.m. E.T. at […]