Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

During fiscal 2025, the legacy cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico shipped more than 190 cubic meters of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). That’s according to a quarterly update distributed Wednesday by Brad Smith, president and general manager of Newport News Nuclear-BWXT-Los Alamos […]

President Donald Trump Thursday signed the $901 billion 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law that would allow nearly $26 billion in funding to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That is the highest authorization limit yet for the agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, and $100 million more than […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed the last production unit of the W88 Alteration 370, a program to modernize the W88 nuclear warhead over several years, NNSA announced Tuesday. The W88 nuclear warhead entered the stockpile in late 1988 and is deployed in the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class Trident II D5 Submarine-Launched […]

The House Wednesday voted 312 to 112 to pass the conferenced $900.6 billion fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would authorize $25.96 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That is the highest authorization limit yet for the agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons […]

Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) is receiving three additional years to manage and operate the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., DOE said early Wednesday. With the three-year extension, Salado will continue to run WIPP from Oct. 1, 2026 through Sept. 30, 2029, DOE said in a news release. […]

Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. recently downgraded Building 9206 from nuclear facility status to radiologically contaminated, local publication The Oak Ridger said Monday. Building 9206 was constructed in 1944 and was used for processes such as uranium recovery and processing, as well as chemical recycling. The Y-12 building was shut down in […]

The Department of Energy is issuing $11 million in awards to five companies to develop and license new transportation packages for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). According to a Monday press release, DOE’s $11 million in awards will assist industry-led efforts to design, modify and license transportation through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The five companies […]

Sandia National Laboratories announced the unveiling of its newest supercomputer, Spectra, on Monday. Sandia teamed up with technology company NextSilicon by using 128 of its specialized chips, with aims to increase performance but reduce power consumption. The chips, called Maverick-2 dual-die accelerators, analyze code to prioritize tasks, a different system than the CPUs and GPUs […]

The protective barrier around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site can no longer confine radioactive waste due to a drone strike in February, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement Dec. 5. An IAEA team completed a safety assessment of the protective cladding, named the New Safe Confinement (NSC), at Ukraine’s Chernobyl site. […]

The Pentagon has completed its review of the trilateral AUKUS security agreement, top department spokesperson Sean Parnell has confirmed.  While the review has yet to be released publicly, Parnell in a statement affirmed the department concluded the security pact between the U.S., Australia and United Kingdom should move “full steam ahead” consistent with President Donald […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Babcock International Group have agreed to a contract expanding a partnership to support construction of Virginia-class submarines through HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. The HII press release on Tuesday said this is the first Virginia-class outsourced contract to Babcock for submarine work with NNS. However, the two entered a […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) hosted a ceremony Tuesday to lay down the keel, or backbone, for the Virginia-class attack submarine Barb (SSN 804), the company announced in a release. The Barb is the 31st Virginia-class attack submarine and the 15th that will be delivered by NNS. “Our reason to come together […]

The U.S. Senate has confirmed David Beck as deputy administrator for defense programs at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Beck was confirmed as part of a large bloc of Donald Trump administration nominees. NNSA announced Beck’s confirmation in a Thursday social media post. “Beck has over 40 years of experience in […]

The Change of Command ceremony for the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) will be held Friday, Dec. 5, where Vice. Adm. Richard Correll will replace Gen. Anthony Cotton. Correll was confirmed Thursday, Nov. 21 in the Senate by voice vote. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Central time at Offutt Air […]

As the Air Force considers when to hold its first flight test in its Northrop Grumman-developed Sentinel missile, Lockheed Martin has received a nearly $454 million contract add-on from the Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The add-on is for the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile’s (ICBM) Mk21A re-entry vehicle. […]

In an email sent out to agency employees, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) head Brandon Williams warned of the consequences of disseminating classified or sensitive information. “It saddens me that this message is necessary,” Williams opened his Nov. 22 email viewed by Exchange Monitor, “but past actions by NNSA-affiliated personnel have undermined national leadership’s confidence […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) approved Critical Decision-4, or the completion of the final stage of construction, for the Process Support Facilities subproject for the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Y-12 National Security Complex. “With the completion of the Process Support Facilities [PSF] at UPF, the team is one step closer to delivering this […]

North and South Dakota Sens. John Hoeven (R) and Mike Rounds (R), respectively, said the Northrop Grumman future intercontinental ballistic missile Sentinel will be under the Golden Dome project in upcoming defense bills. “The project itself, it will be a part of an Iron Dome project, or a Golden Dome Project,” Rounds told the Exchange […]

The bow section of the first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine arrived at General Dynamics’ Electric Boat South Yard assembly building in Groton, Conn. last week, where it will undergo final assembly. With this delivery, all of the major modules for the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) are now at Electric Boat’s facility. The bow […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) issued a request for information from “innovators” in artificial intelligence (AI) with aims to integrate AI into the agency’s critical operations, NNSA announced Monday. The request for information (RFI), entitled “Transformational AI Capabilities for National Security,” was released one week after President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently conducted an experiment on weapons-grade plutonium to assess how resilient a nuclear weapon will prove when it comes up against an adversary’s missile defenses.  The experiment was conducted at the lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), where fusion ignition, or the output of more energy than was input, was first achieved […]

Two nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) launch task area agreements were awarded to Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, a division of the defense company, and Pacific Engineering. The award was announced on the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) contracting platform. It will be funded by the Strategic Systems Programs in partnership with NSWC Crane, a spokesperson […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has provided more information on land available for lease at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina for development of a data center powered by a small modular reactor (SMR). The online procurement notice published Monday in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) now lists 5 […]

A new pro-nuclear group in New Mexico has emerged and seeks to play a role in the state’s transition towards clean energy with nuclear power. The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance, founded in July, is a non-partisan membership organization that operates out of Santa Fe, N.M. The new group has partnered with the Carlsbad N.M. Department […]

While much of the government was shut down, the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico stayed open and received 45 waste shipments in October based upon figures from DOE’s public website for the disposal site.  That’s a drop from the 61 shipments the plant received a month prior in September […]

Jocelyn Brown-Saracino, who spent 15 years with the Department of Energy, has been selected to head the DOE Alumni Network, Tarak Shah, former DOE chief of staff during the Joe Biden administration, announced last week on LinkedIn. “Having gotten to know Jocelyn over this search process, I am SO excited that she is going to […]

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published on Friday Nov. 28. Exchange Monitor Publications will not be staffed Nov. 27 or Nov. 28. Enjoy your holiday. Your next weekly publication will be on Friday Dec. 5.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Thursday announced reorganization of the Department of Energy with a prominent role in the organizational chart for the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The reorganization is designed “to strengthen DOE’s ability to execute President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance,” Wright said in a press release. “This […]