Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 The State Department this week called out a Russian diplomat’s recent announcement that his country has “virtually exhausted” bilateral nuclear reductions with the United States through the New START Treaty. “Of course we have not exhausted bilateral nuclear disarmament options,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to NS&D […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Boeing’s CEO this week played down concerns that the unsuccessful pursuit of the new Long-Range Strike Bomber could have significant impacts on the company. “There’s enough technology and we regroup and regrow organically,” Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said during a May 12 investor conference. Developed through Boeing Commercial Airlines (BCA) […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 As “slightly messy” debates continue at the ongoing Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference (RevCon), experts this week laid out options for a path forward for disarmament at the Arms Control Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. This year’s RevCon, which is held every five years at the United Nations in […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 As it appears that bilateral cooperation on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 continues to sputter, arms control experts this week offered recommendations for accomplishing the aims of the accord. Options include boosting weapons transparency and negotiating a similar multilateral agreement. “I see an opportunity now in using the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Lawmakers raised various concerns over the proposed renewal of a 30-year civil nuclear agreement with China during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. The deal is currently set to expire at the end of this year. Committee Republicans and Democrats expressed concerns about possible Chinese intentions […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Sandia National Laboratories Director Paul Hommert announced this week that he plans to retire in mid-summer. “The process to name my successor is well underway and will be complete in time to support a smooth leadership transition,” he said in a release. “The timing for my retirement is consistent with […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Navy Strategic Systems Programs intends to negotiate a modification by May 29 to accelerate the delivery and increase the number of launcher subsystem tactical hardware for installation of the 1st Article missile tube quad pack for the Ohio Replacement and UK Successor programs’ Common Missile Compartment, according to Defense Department […]

Los Alamos Guards Union Looks to Resume Contract Talks Next Week NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Talks appear set to resume next week on a new collective bargaining agreement for protective force workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, though the union representing the protective force workers is not optimistic an “acceptable” economic package will be reached. The […]

Court Overturns Sabotage Convictions for Y-12 Protestors NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court has reversed the conviction of three Plowshares protesters on sabotage charges for the 2012 break-in at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and sent the case back to U.S. District Court in Knoxville, Tenn., for resentencing on the […]

Site Removes 26 Sealed Plutonium Sources Under Source Recovery Project NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 The Savannah River Site has removed 26 sealed plutonium-238 sources in collaboration with the Off-Site Source Recovery Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the site announced this week. At Savannah River, the Tritium Facilities Analytical Laboratory had needed the sources to calibrate […]

IN DoD Defense Secretary Ash Carter this week nominated Adm. John Richardson to be the next Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Richardson currently serves as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. “Admiral John Richardson was a clear choice,” Carter said. “He’s a bold thinker, a tremendous leader, and the go-to officer for many of […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor  5/8/2015 In another step by the Obama Administration away from the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the long-awaited Surplus Plutonium Disposition Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement no longer includes MOX as a “preferred alternative” for disposing of the material. The National Nuclear Security Administration recently posted the final SEIS for the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 WARRENSBURG, Mo. — The top commander of the U.S. strategic forces pushed back this week against recent calls by a predecessor for the United States to reduce the high alert levels of its strategic deployed nuclear weapons. During the Strategic Deterrent Coalition’s symposium at the University of Central Missouri, held […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 WARRENSBURG, Mo.—Two senior nuclear triad leaders this week positively assessed their services’ communication records with Congress, days after the House Armed Services Committee approved legislation that would establish quarterly meetings between Pentagon brass and HASC after lawmakers raised concerns about the frequency of military-to-Capitol Hill briefings on nuclear forces. “What […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 While Babcock and Wilcox’s Technical Services Group is still grappling with the loss of the Y-12 and Pantex managing contracts, B&W President and CEO James Ferland expressed optimism this week about the unit’s future, especially as B&W moves forward with a restructuring to spin-off its power generating unit. In a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The Air Force announced early this week plans to extend by at least three months Northrop Grumman’s Partial Bridge Contract (PBC)—comprising sustainment of the Minuteman 3 Propulsion System. The service awarded a three-month basic extension with two additional three-month options for the PBC. The PBC could conclude as late as […]

DOE Convenes Separate Accident Investigation Board Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The Department of Energy had already launched an investigation into the electrical systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory after several incidents occurred prior to this week’s electrical accident there, which left one worker seriously injured and eight others seeking medical treatment. The May 3 […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned on Wednesday during a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee the top enlisted Defense Department official on why the U.S. needs a replacement for the air-launched cruise missile, and expressed concern that the replacement’s W-80 warhead will vie with nonproliferation activities for federal funding. “This is a […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration late this week began conducting market research to see if a planned contract to help install radiation detection systems to prevent nuclear smuggling can be set aside for small businesses. The new contract is a follow-on to an existing contract to provide design, integration, construction, […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Operations at the Pantex Plant were briefly suspended early this week in what the contractor that manages the plant has described as a “quality pause.” The pause was initiated after site workers “questioned non-nuclear hardware assembly processes,” a spokesman for the site’s managing contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, said. The […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Talks on a new collective bargaining agreement between Los Alamos National Laboratory and its protective force workers ran into a significant roadblock this week, with International Guards Union of American Local 69 breaking off talks after accusing the lab’s protective force subcontractor, SOC-Los Alamos, of negotiating “in bad faith.” The […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Centrus Energy Corp. President and CEO Dan Poneman laid out a vision this week for the comeback of the uranium enrichment firm, emphasizing the need to be commercially successful in addition to fulfilling national security needs. Centrus, formerly known as USEC, has struggled to turn a profit in recent years. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 A senior U.S. diplomat defended ongoing efforts to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons complex late last week at the 2015 Review Conference (RevCon) of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, saying such efforts could help advance some disarmament goals.  “Modernization of our nuclear enterprise will over time allow for still greater reductions […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 There is no evidence that former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman broke any ethics rules while at the Department of Energy regarding his future post as CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp., DOE Deputy General Counsel Eric Fygi said in an April 30 letter to Sen. John Barrasso […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division has awarded Lockheed Martin a $16 million sole-source indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for technical engineering, life cycle support and repair services of Ohio-class submarine data processing system (DPS) equipment and related systems, according to a May 1 Defense Department announcement. The announcement defines DPS […]

ATLC Agrees To Two-Month Extension for Current Contract NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The stretched-out and so-far-unsuccessful union negotiations at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant are apparently having an impact on Y-12 in Oak Ridge, the sister plant that is managed under the same contract as the Amarillo, Texas, plant. Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades […]

Language in House E&W Bill Called ‘Unnecessarily Restrictive’ by Administration Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 The Obama Administration is continuing to try to distance itself from the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, objecting this week to language in the House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations Act that would keep construction […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 Expressing concern about Russia’s recent behavior, including its alleged violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and invasion of Ukraine, two Republican Senators this week criticized Secretary of State John Kerry’s  statement this week  that a 2013 U.S. offer to Russia for bilateral nuclear weapon reductions below New START levels […]

Kerry Announces Current Stockpile Size of 4,717   Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 Concerned about an increased emphasis on nuclear weapons dismantlement, the House Armed Services Committee this week added language to the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would cap the National Nuclear Security Administration’s dismantlement budget at $50 million over the […]