Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The Senate this week confirmed a host of Defense Department nominees just before the chamber left for its congressional recess, breaking a months-long stalemate due to friction between Republicans and Democrats over the health-care debate. The Senate on Monday confirmed by unanimous consent Air Force Gen. Paul Selva for a second term as vice chairman […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Department of Defense’s nuclear posture review is looking at whether the schedule for replacing the three legs of the aging nuclear triad should be revised, a Pentagon official said Aug. 3. Asked whether the Air Force should speed up the land-based leg, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), Air […]

The U.S. Senate began its August recess Thursday without approving its version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, leaving the measure in limbo for at least several weeks. Democrats have blocked floor debate and a vote on the Senate version of the bill over objections to other non-defense legislation, meaning a conference between […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday reported revenue of $1.86 billion in the second quarter of 2017, up by 9.3 percent from the $1.7 billion it reported during the same period last year. The shipbuilder collected $237 million in operating income – up from $217 million last year – and $186 million in cash from operations, […]

The Donald Trump administration is close to a mostly Republican Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but is still operating with a Democratic-leaning Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The White House in January began an ideological shift at both five-member groups, but the NRC, which regulates commercial nuclear power plants and civilian nuclear waste, is further along in its […]

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed fiscal 2018 energy appropriations legislation in a 235-192 vote, after blocking a number of amendments from Democrats targeting the proposed increase in funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons activities account. Lawmakers this week debated a slew of amendments to the Make America Secure Appropriations Act of […]

The County of Los Alamos, N.M., is unhappy with the Energy Department’s plans for the follow-on management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The comments were included in an email to DOE signed by David Izraelevitz, chair of the Los Alamos County Council, also on behalf of the body’s vice chair and several […]

Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS), the contractor newly chosen to run the Nevada National Security Site, has announced its incoming leadership team as it proceeds with transition activities at the facility. Two veterans of Department of Energy national laboratories will take the top spots at the Nevada facility: Mark Martinez is the incoming site […]

A “tit-for-tat” response to Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty may not be the best option for the United States, Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters during the Deterrence Symposium in Omaha, Neb. U.S. officials have concluded that Russia deployed a ground-launched nuclear-capable […]

Two interconnected facilities at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina have stopped receiving nuclear materials due to growing infrastructure problems that could have significant consequences in the event of an earthquake. A newly released report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board noted the suspension of nuclear materials receipts at H […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force is consulting closely with lawmakers on the bomber roadmap that it plans to unveil in September, the service’s top general said July 26. “We’re in the process right now of doing something that we’ve been accused in the past of not doing really well, and that is […]

Northrop Grumman on Wednesday reported increases in both revenue and net earnings for the second quarter of 2017. Sales landed at $6.4 billion in sales in the quarter, up by 6 percent from $6 billion during the same quarter of last year.  The defense-contracting giant also brought in earnings of $552 million, up by 7 percent from […]

A local advisory board this week voiced its opposition to using the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina for interim storage of nuclear waste, but could not come to agreement on a request for DOE to prohibit shipments to the facility of highly enriched uranium from Germany. The Energy Department should […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) is streamlining its component structure by consolidating 18 component commands into four, the head of STRATCOM said July 26. Under the reorganization, one component command will be responsible for all air and missile capabilities, while the others will oversee maritime forces, missile defense and space, said Air Force […]

The Departments of Energy and Defense should better explain their 10-year nuclear deterrent modernization budget estimates and address future affordability concerns, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly released report. The GAO examined the DOD and DOE’s fiscal 2017 joint report, which places the total cost of the two Cabinet agencies’ nuclear modernization plans […]

Tom D’Agostino, former administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, has joined the board of directors of small modular reactor company NuScale Power, the company announced Monday. D’Agostino, who served as head of the NNSA from 2007 to 2013, replaces former board member Dave Dunning, NuScale said in a press release. He has been with […]

The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility being built in South Carolina is on its way to becoming a sticking point between the House and Senate as they work toward settling on a single energy and water funding bill for fiscal 2018. House appropriators remain intent on saving the controversial Department of Energy project, while their […]

Contractors that over a decade ago competed for the current management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are not yet saying whether they intend to bid on the upcoming new prime contract at the site. The National Nuclear Security Administration last week released a draft request for proposals for […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily Former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan was sworn in as the 33rd deputy secretary of defense during an informal ceremony July 19, a day after the Senate voted, 92-7, to confirm him as the Pentagon’s second-ranking official. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), endorsed Shanahan before the vote, […]

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Monday the United States should work to preserve the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia while taking concrete steps to develop military capabilities similar to those prohibited by the accord, as covered in the House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. “For the time being, […]

Lockheed Martin Corp. on Tuesday announced net sales of $12.7 billion and net earnings from continuing operations of $942 million for the second quarter of 2017. Net sales increased on a year-over-year basis from $11.6 billion and net earnings from $899 million, while cash from operations remained steady at $1.5 billion. The company’s Space Systems […]

Energy Department contractor Honeywell on Friday reported 3 percent organic sales growth in the second quarter of 2017, with total net sales reaching $10.1 billion, up slightly from $10 billion during the same quarter of last year. The company reported a 10 percent year-over-year increase in earnings and earnings per share of $1.80 in the […]

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has issued a final contingent hazardous waste permit modification for the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, which was previously used for the manufacture of non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons. A 225-acre portion of the old complex is set to be transferred to a private developer and redeveloped for […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The Department of Defense plans to send a reprogramming request to Congress to ensure the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) does not run out of money for the rest of the current fiscal year, a top military officer said July 18. DOD, which has placed “tremendous demands” on DIUx, began developing […]

A trio of nuclear watchdogs on Thursday filed suit in federal court to force the Department of Energy to conduct a new environmental evaluation before building the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims the National Environmental […]

The Savannah River Site has conducted three tritium extractions in the current fiscal year, furthering the Department of Energy facility’s goal of providing the gas for the nation’s defense program. The DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Thursday that fiscal 2017 marks the first time the SRS Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) has conducted […]

The House Appropriations Committee approved Wednesday its fiscal 2018 State Department funding bill, which would cut overall agency funding while making more modest changes to the accounts related to arms control and international security. The bill in total provides $47.4 billion for the State Department in discretionary and Overseas Contingency Operations funding – $10 billion […]

A group of senators on Wednesday encouraged the U.S. secretaries of state, defense, and energy to implement a set of actions in the ongoing Nuclear Posture Review process meant to increase transparency and reinforce national nuclear policy positions. In a July 19 letter, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and 20 of their colleagues, […]