Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) 2015 long-term budget estimate for its nuclear arms modernization programs has increased by $17.6 billion since last year, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released yesterday. The report says NNSA’s 2015 estimate of $293.4 billion over 25 years represents “an increase of […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  8/7/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration fined Los Alamos National Security $192,500 for multiple violations of Energy Department classified information security requirements, according to a July 28 letter from NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz to Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan. A DOE investigation found in 2012 that LANS, the contract […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 Several fiscal 2013 subcontracts at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) National Security Campus (NSC) in Kansas City, Mo., worth almost one-third of the total value of subcontracts reviewed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Inspector General (IG), were awarded noncompetitively without justification, according to an audit report […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) intends to resubmit to the Department of Energy (DOE) Field Office the Evaluation of the Safety of the Situation/Justification for Continued Operations (ESS/JCO) concerning safety basis limits at the Area G nuclear waste disposal site, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) spokesman Al Stotts told NS&D […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  8/7/2015 The concurrent timeline for building the Ohio Replacement ballistic missile submarine will impact the industrial base for the smaller Virginia-class fast-attack submarines, and Huntington Ingalls Industries is talking with the government about how to best complete concurrent work on both vessels as efficiently as possible, HII CEO Mike Petters said […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  8/7/2015 Renewal of the 30-year-old U.S.-China civil nuclear cooperation agreement moved past the 90-day congressional review period on July 31, keeping the door open for U.S. private investment in the world’s fastest-growing nuclear market. However, U.S. companies will face competition from foreign companies, such as France’s AREVA, which has announced plans […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 The United States’ Long-Range Strike Bomber, the Ohio-class submarine replacement, and the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) programs are the main fuel of potential budget overruns for the U.S. nuclear forces, according to newly released projections from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA).  These programs will “drive the potential […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  8/7/2015 Structural engineers at the Y-12 National Security Complex have begun preliminary design work to stabilize a concrete beam found with vertical and horizontal cracks, according to a letter sent last month from the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge site office to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and released this week. […]

Y-12 Relocates Uranium Canning Operations Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 8/7/15 A high priority at the Y-12 National Security Complex is moving work out of the 9212 complex, the oldest and shakiest of the Oak Ridge plant’s production facilities. It appears, based on a newly released report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, […]

Pantex Union Workers to Vote on Contract Offer Saturday Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 8/7/15 After six months of negotiations, Consolidated Nuclear Security has reportedly made a best-and-final contract offer to the Metal Trades Council at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant. According to a statement released Wednesday by CNS, union workers at Pantex are expected to […]

The 343rd Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB on July 28 became the first reserve aircrew to be qualified on the new combat network communications technology (CONECT) modification on the B-52, according to an Aug. 5 Air Force Global Strike Command press release. "As reservists, the 343rd BS having CONECT qualified crews means the squadron is […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Expanding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty to include countries in Europe and Asia will offset power imbalances and encourage Russia’s compliance, two experts said Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Right now the INF Treaty issue is a diplomatic issue between the United States and […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 The U.S. focus on extending the service life of the nation’s existing nuclear arsenal could threaten critical warhead design and development capabilities, John Harvey, former principal deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs, said on Tuesday. “In order to maintain critical capabilities, nuclear […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 The Pentagon’s base funding account could require $500 billion above Budget Control Act (BCA)-permitted funding levels over eight years to comprehensively modernize U.S. nuclear forces and support other key missions, according to a recently released RAND study on national security. “Choices for America in a Turbulent World” outlines an average […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 LA VISTA, Neb.—Deterrence is not limited to nuclear weapons, but conventional arms and ballistic missile defense cannot substitute for the U.S. nuclear triad, a senior Defense Department official said here on Thursday. “Most of you have heard me say too many times that deterrence is not limited solely to nuclear […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 The Ohio-class Replacement (OR) was one of two main drivers for General Dynamics’ 5.5 percent revenue increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to the second quarter of fiscal 2015, as sales rose from $7.5 billion to $7.9 billion, company officials said this week. GD CEO Phebe Novakovic said […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 Winning the Long Range Strike-Bomber contract would not change Northrop Grumman’s expectation of $700 million in capital expenditures for calendar year 2015, while losing the competition would have little effect on whether the company would acquire or be absorbed by another company, Northrop officials said on Wednesday during a company […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) proposition to credit pipe overpack containers (POC) with a damage ratio of zero at the Area G nuclear waste disposal site was found “inappropriate” and “not technically defensible” by personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Ten-year nuclear modernization budget estimates submitted in 2014 by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense (DOD), although “generally consistent” with the agencies’ initiatives, omitted $1.6 billion for two DOE activities and lacked transparency in some DOD calculations, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday. In […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 New Mexico Tech (NMT) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have formed a consortium that will bid on the management and operation contract for Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Earlier this year the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a sources sought solicitation for SNL’s management and will award the contract following an […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 LA VISTA, Neb.— A senior NATO official on Wednesday here urged allies to steer the Western debate on nuclear arms away from its culture of “self-accusation,” which he said has weakened foreign confidence in U.S. extended deterrence and which he claimed was brought on, partly, by nuclear abolitionists who “hijacked” […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employee Anthony Rivera filed a complaint to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz earlier this month alleging that he had been fired after reporting hazards at the lab to management. Rivera told NS&D Monitor he was employed at the lab since 1984 and fired on […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 The Air Force plans to release a concept of operations (CONOPS) and a draft request for proposals for the estimated $62.3 billion Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) as early as September, NS&D Monitor has learned. The service then in January is expected to award two parallel nonexclusive teaming contracts to carry […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily  7/31/2015 Adm. John Richardson, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next chief of naval operations (CNO), told senators yesterday that the planned design requirements for the Ohio-class Replacement submarines are “exactly what we need.” Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, he specifically cited the ship’s […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 On Tuesday, command of the Air Force Global Strike Command shifted from Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson to Gen. Robin Rand, according to an Air Force press release, marking the first time the unit has become a four-star command. "Today is a great day to be an American airman and it’s […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant had 56 reported infractions related to nuclear criticality safety in Fiscal Year 2014, and the Oak Ridge plant received a rating of “meets expectations” in the annual review of nuclear criticality safety programs by the Department of Energy. The number of infractions was down from […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 07/31/15 As the July 30 deadline neared for public comment on the National Nuclear Security Administration’s draft environmental assessment for a new emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex, an activist group urged the agency to release more information and to merge the EA process with a supplement to […]

NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 LANL Official Outlines Improvements Necessary for Proper Work Control Practices A Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) official has issued guidance on proper work control practices following several "poor work control practices" incidents, including the downing of a power line that led to a daylong pause in maintenance work, according to a June […]

NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY A former commander of Air Force Materiel Command, retired Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, has been named to AECOM’s Board of Directors effective Aug. 1, according to an AECOM press release. “It is an honor to welcome General Wolfenbarger to our Board of Directors,” said AECOM Chairman and CEO Michael Burke. […]