Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Global information technology provider Leidos this week reported higher earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the full fiscal year, in part due to its acquisition last year of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business segment. The company reported revenue of $2.58 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the export of up to 144 kilograms of nuclear weapon-grade uranium to Belgium. The fuel elements, enriched to 93.2 percent, would be used to power Belgian Reactor No. 2 at the Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie-Centre d’Etude de l’Energie Nucléaire (SCK-CEN). The regulator, though, ruled that the license issued to Washington, […]

Sandia National Laboratories Director Jill Hruby nearly topped Business Insider’s list this week of the 43 most powerful female engineers of 2017 in the U.S. technology sector. Hruby came in at No. 2, behind only Peggy Johnson, executive vice president for business development at Microsoft. Barbara Rusinko, a president at major Department of Energy contractor […]

The United Nations conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear weapons prohibition will begin its session next month in New York. The conference held its first organizational meeting last week, where it adopted a draft provisional agenda and elected Elayne Whyte Gomez of Costa Rica as conference president. The U.N. General Assembly First Committee voted […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) this week authorized the beginning of the W88 Alteration 370 program’s production engineering phase, part of the agency’s work in ensuring the reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. The W88 thermonuclear warhead is deployed on the Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile carried on Ohio-class submarines. The warhead, in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should enhance its oversight of source material export licensees, the agency’s Inspector General’s Office said in an audit report released Wednesday. The report noted that from 2011 to 2015, the NRC issued 14 export licenses for source material, defined primarily as uranium or thorium or a combination of the two radioactive elements. […]

Another group has announced its opposition to the anticipated shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from a Canadian laboratory to the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. The Iroquois Caucus, a Canada-based coalition of seven First Nation communities, said in a prepared statement Wednesday it is “unanimously condemning a plan to truck 23,000 liters of highly […]

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up on news affecting the U.S. nuclear deterrent during […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday reported modest revenue and operating income increases for both fourth-quarter and full-year 2016. Specifically, the shipbuilder reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.9 billion, a 0.9 percent increase from the same year-ending period of 2015. Meanwhile, it brought in $7.1 billion in revenue over the full year, up by 0.7 percent from […]

Republicans in both houses of Congress on Thursday introduced legislation intended to press Russia to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, following reports that the nation has deployed a new cruise missile in contravention of the accord. The Intermediate-Range Forces Treaty Preservation Act, from Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), […]

The contractor managing construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina this week issued a request for proposals for a fixed-price subcontract to install HVAC ductwork for the project. CB&I AREVA MOX Services said the subcontract will involve the installation of ductwork, supports, and […]

The United States and Russia have significant opportunities to collaborate on cleanup of nuclear contamination and the prevention of nuclear terrorism, even as they remain antagonists in other spheres, according to a report issued this week by nongovernmental groups from both nations. The report, “Pathways to Cooperation,” resulted from a February 2016 meeting of experts […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday revived his widely discredited claim that his campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton, sealed a deal to sell 20 percent of U.S. uranium to Russia while she was secretary of state. Trump emphasized the danger posed by uranium, which at high enrichment levels can power nuclear weapons. “We had Hillary Clinton give […]

South Carolina’s new governor thinks the state Attorney General’s Office should refile its $100 million plutonium disposition claim against the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, a spokesperson said Attorney General Alan Wilson is still contemplating his next move after a federal judge last week dismissed the state’s monetary claim over DOE’s failure to meet its plutonium […]

Mum is the word on when shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) are scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina following a recent federal court decision against environmental groups seeking to block the transports from Canada. “In order to preserve operational security, DOE/NNSA does not comment on planned shipments of nuclear material,” a National […]

Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily The projected cost to operate, maintain, and modernize America’s nuclear forces during the next 10 years is $400 billion, an average of $40 billion annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO’s new estimate of nuclear force plans for the departments of Defense and Energy is based on fiscal 2017 […]

The United States and 20 other nations are following through on a pledge made at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit to reduce and eventually end use of nuclear weapon-grade uranium in the civilian sector. The nations laid out a four-part agenda in a Jan. 30 joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency, first reported […]

President Donald Trump has yet to lay out a straightforward message regarding his approach to nuclear arms control, but any pullback from the U.S.-Russian New START accord could be unfortunate at best, according to Thomas Countryman, who last month ended his decades-long career at the State Department as the agency’s top arms control official. “So […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s nuclear criticality safety program in fiscal 2016 fell short of Department of Energy requirements, but an improvement plan has been established, according to an annual nuclear criticality safety program metrics report submitted to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The DNFSB asked DOE in February 2016 to provide a […]

One of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation technology development programs does not sufficiently track its project outcomes, the Government Accountability Office found in a newly released report. The NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) implements programs worldwide meant to eliminate and help prevent the spread of sensitive nuclear material. DNN features two programs […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday faced a fresh round of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and arms control advocates following a report that he had decried the New START nuclear accord during his first phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Citing several sources, Reuters reported that Trump during the Jan. 28 call had to ask an […]

A joint venture consisting of several New Mexico-headquartered small businesses will support the recently awarded management and operations contract for the Sandia National Laboratories, contractor Sandia Technical Partners (STP) announced Tuesday. The new firm was formed “to enhance small business participation” in the contract, which the National Nuclear Security Administration in December awarded to National […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has identified a problem with loose bolts used for HVAC ductwork during construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, sending as a result a notice of violation to project contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services. The MOX facility is being built to convert 34 metric tons of […]

A pretrial conference has been scheduled for later this month for two men accused of stealing more than $4 million from the federal government while working at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). In December 2015, the Department of Justice announced the indictment of Aaron Vennefron of Hamilton, Ohio, and Phillip […]

A federal judge has dismissed South Carolina’s claim seeking $100 million for the missed plutonium disposal deadline at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs on Wednesday also sent another request against the Department of Energy – for the removal of 1 metric ton of nuclear […]

The U.S. Defense Department is set to complete its new Nuclear Posture Review this spring, and deliberations could address the weapons and nuclear yields necessary for the U.S. nuclear deterrent going forward, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Tuesday. “I do believe we’re going to have discussions about munitions. I do believe […]

We welcome and publish comments from our readers. Write us a short letter to the editor (300 words) or a fuller commentary (800 words) about your work at NNSA sites and send it to us by Wednesday for publication in the following Friday’s Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor newsletter. Write about any nuclear enterprise topic you like. […]