Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday it is is pleased with the outcome of a federal operational readiness review (FORR) for the Transuranic Waste Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, in which 12 of the 13 functional areas passed muster. “This was a successful review in the eyes of […]

At the prodding of a senior U.S. senator, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is working on a “thorough review” of its primary plutonium-pit production facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a spokesman for the semiautonomous Energy Department agency said Tuesday. In early August, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) — after reading […]

A portion of the Savannah River Site’s security personnel with union representation are on the job this week even as nearly 300 of their colleagues remain on strike in the wake of failed labor negotiations. Of the 337 security employees represented by the United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River (PPSR), 48 are currently working. That […]

Lockheed Martin, which recently lost a competition to mature designs for the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), announced Aug. 30 that it has chosen not to challenge the contracts awarded to two rivals. “After receiving a debrief and reviewing information provided, Lockheed Martin has accepted the Air Force’s decision on the Ground […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it helped remove 1 kilogram of Chinese highly enriched uranium from Ghana, clearing the last cache of such nuclear weapon-usable material out of the West African nation. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency said in a press release it cooperated with Ghana, China, and the International Atomic […]

Scott Gibbs is returning to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico more than three years after retiring from a senior management position at the Department of Energy facility. Gibbs will be back at LANL on Sept. 5 as deputy director for mission assurance, lab spokesman Matthew Nerzig said by email Monday. Gibbs’ […]

The Pentagon should not have rushed to hand out more than $1 billion in contracts to modernize U.S. nuclear missiles before the Donald Trump administration completes the Nuclear Posture Review it started in January, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Sunday. “We should not be doubling down on these legacy nuclear […]

About four dozen people representing a host of security companies and Energy Department contractors attended the Aug. 14 industry day for the new paramilitary services contract for DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Among the companies represented were current security provider Centerra, BWX Technologies, Wastren Advantage, the Government Training Institute, Paragon Systems, Professional Project […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Monday revealed it tested components of the B61-12 gravity bomb intended it is developing as part of the U.S. nuclear modernization effort. The two qualification flights took place Aug. 8 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the NNSA said in a press release published on its website. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing the Energy Department to send Belgium only about half the highly enriched uranium by weight the country sought for production of medical isotopes, according to a letter the commission sent to a group of nonproliferation advocates who opposed the transfer. An export license filed by DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear […]

The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is looking for small businesses capable of identifying and classifying sensitive information from amid the reams of data generated by the nuclear stockpile steward. In a sources sought request late Friday, the agency said a contractor selected in any subsequent procurement would have to handle classified work on […]

The Department of Energy’s proposed plan to remove plutonium from the Savannah River Site does not hold the agency accountable if it misses deadlines, South Carolina said this week in its latest filing in a federal lawsuit on the dispute. While the state wants the court to hold DOE’s feet to the fire, the department […]

Members of the Defense Nuclear Security Facilities Safety Board said the federal organization should not have sent an engineer on a temporary work assignment to the National Nuclear Security Administration to advocate for the White House’s funding priorities. The two DNFSB members, Jessie Hill Roberson and Daniel Santos, made their opinion known in an internal memo dated […]

Boeing and Northrop Grumman have been awarded technology maturation and risk reduction contracts valued at $349.2 million and $328.6 million, respectively, over three years. “The companies selected were determined to provide the best overall value to the warfighter and taxpayers based on the source selection’s evaluation factors — technical approach/technical risk and cost/price,” the Air […]

Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK both announced late Aug. 21 that they have joined the Northrop Grumman team that will compete against Boeing to develop the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). Northrop Grumman spokesman Tim Paynter said that “both Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK are providing propulsion solutions.” While Orbital ATK declined […]

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon received contracts Aug. 23 to mature designs for the Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a replacement for the U.S. Air Force’s aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). Each company has been awarded a 54-month contract valued at about $900 million for the program’s technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase. When […]

A United Nations treaty that seeks to ban nuclear weapons is legally unsound and would make the world less safe, a senior White House nuclear-security official said Tuesday during an unapologetically blunt address to domestic and international policy wonks at a Washington think-tank. The United Nations voted July 7 to adopt the Treaty on the […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) is investigating unauthorized access to confidential information at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the internal DOE enforcement agent wrote in a letter to Y-12 prime contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS). The breach was identified on March 16, 2017, and CNS on July 27 reported […]

Congress skipped town, and so did many other readers, but that didn’t stop news from breaking during the ExchangeMonitor’s annual August publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories that we’ve been following. BWXT Revenue, Income Spike in 2Q BWX Technologies on Monday reported revenue and income increases […]

About half the workers with the Savannah River Site’s security contractor remained on strike this week as the result of failed negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, though traffic conditions at facility entrances affected by the strike had improved, the company said Thursday. “All barricades except one have been open since last Wednesday and the […]

The University of Texas is exploring a bid to manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory after receiving the green light Thursday from its Board of Regents. The regents approved bid preparations that could cost up to $4.5 million in a Thursday meeting at the University of Texas at Austin. The meeting happened only days after […]

Management at Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS) did not receive a clear sense for why the venture secured the contract to manage and operate the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site, incoming site manager Mark Martinez said Thursday. “They didn’t tell us why we won, they just told us that we won,” Martinez […]

The ExchangeMonitor is following Congress into August recess, and NS&D Monitor will not be published during the second and third weeks of the month. We’ll still be in the office, so keep the news tips coming, and look for the next weekly newsletter in your inbox on Friday, Aug. 25.

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as a test of the accuracy and reliability of the weapon system, a key component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Airmen from the Global Strike Command’s 90th Missile Wing, based at F.E. Warren Air […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. military should continue improving its stealth aircraft technology to keep its advantage over possible rivals in the coming decades, according to a report released Aug. 2 by the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute. Stealth aircraft have played an important role in U.S. operations since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, […]

After four months of deliberations, the state of South Carolina and the Department of Energy could not agree on how best to remove plutonium from DOE’s Savannah River Site, or whether the department will pay $200 million in fines that have piled up while the dispute lingered. In a joint statement Monday to Judge J. Michelle Childs, […]

Rich Abott Defense Daily Building a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) will be cheaper than upgrading the 1970s-era Minuteman III, a Boeing official said on Wednesday. Frank McCall, Boeing vice president for strategic deterrence systems, said affordability is just one of several reasons why the Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) plan to replace the Minuteman […]

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 […]