Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 The Air Force has programmed a plus-up of about $5.6 billion for its nuclear enterprise over the Future Years’ Defense Program (FYDP), some of which would presumptively fund the procurement of close to 100 long-range strike bombers, but the Budget Control Act (BCA) could force the service to reduce to […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration is already reaping the benefits of consolidating the management and operating contracts at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants, having already saved $80 million, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon said in a response to a Government Accountability Office report that raised questions about […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 OGDEN, UTAH – Collaboration between the Air Force ICBM System Program Office and Navy Strategic System Programs (SSP) looks promising, Michael Maglich, SSP Technical Director/Deputy Direct Reporting Program Manager, said last week here at the TRIAD conference. “I think we have a common forcing function, the budget, that we didn’t […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Another lawmaker raised concerns this week regarding former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman’s new position as CEO of Centrus Energy Corp., as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned Poneman’s potential influence on Department of Energy staff. Earlier this month the uranium enrichment firm, which under its previous name USEC received substantial […]

Todd Jacobson and Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) reintroduced parallel legislation this week in the House and Senate that would cut $100 billion in nuclear weapons spending over the next decade. The lawmakers have previously authored bills similar to the “Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 In the latest of a series of announced leadership shuffles in the Air Force’s Nuclear Enterprise, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last week announced that President Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, 20th Air Force commander, for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as deputy chief of […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 A White House official this week responded point by point to three Russian assertions that the U.S. has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, while reiterating Washington’s goal to bring Russia back into compliance with the agreement. The U.S. publicly accused Russia in July of violating INF Treaty by […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Time is dwindling for the Obama Administration to make a push for Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, but Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller said this week that she’s not giving up on one of the pillars of President Obama’s nuclear security […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall (D) and Martin Heinrich (D) introduced a bill this week to boost Laboratory Directed Research and Development programs at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories. The “LDRD Enhancement Act of 2015” would increase the percentage of lab funding that can be set aside for special […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security is continuing to try to address employee concerns about benefit reductions at Y-12 and Pantex while trying to carry out its promise to reduce costs and bring the plants into compliance with Department of Energy orders. About 400 Pantex employees reportedly met with health care providers March […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration released this week for the first time a comprehensive strategy for its nonproliferation work. Called Prevent, Counter, and Respond—A Strategic Plan to Reduce Global Nuclear Threats, the 124-page document provides an overview of NNSA’s plans for its recently reorganized nonproliferation account from Fiscal Year 2016 […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Montana Sens. Steve Daines (R) and Jon Tester (D) expressed disappointment this week about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) decision to approve the Air Force’s proposed expansion of the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC). B-1s housed at Ellsworth AFB and B-52s housed at Minot AFB currently use the area, which […]

Burns & McDonnell to Build $12M Power Supply Building at Technical Area-55 NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Burns & McDonnell, a Kansas City-based architecture, engineering and construction company, recently won a $12 million contract to build a nuclear class building that will house a pair of redundant power supply systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Technical Area-55, […]

False Alarm at Purification Facility NS&D Monitor 3/27/2015 Not long after resuming operations following an evacuation and three-month shutdown due to a chemical spill, Y-12’s Purification Facility—which produces classified Fogbank for nuclear weapons—was once again evacuated this week. This time it was a false alarm, though, and top officials at the Oak Ridge plant said […]

A March 20 story incorrectly noted that Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker was relieved of his duties as commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Naval Air Force (CNAP). The Internet version of the story was corrected on March 24 to show that Capt. Heather Cole was relieved of her duties as commander of Strategic Communications Wing 1 […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Naval Air Force (CNAP), relieved Capt. Heather Cole of her duties as the commander of Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW 1) and Task Force 124 (TF 124) at Tinker AFB, Okla., on March 17, because of a “loss in the […]

Plant Looking for Groundwater Well Activities Contractor NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Pantex Plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security is planning to put out a Request for Proposals for groundwater well activities, according to a solicitation released on FedBizOpps this week. CNS said it is looking for a contractor on an “as-needed basis” to support Pantex’s Long Term […]

Doubling Production at Y-12 9212 Facility to Pose Major Challenge for Contractor CNS NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Doubling production at the aged 9212 uranium processing facility and maintaining safety won’t be easy, but National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz said last week the recent goal put in place by the agency is important, doable and […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Russia’s annexation of Crimea, coupled with the Kremlin’s withdrawal from longstanding bilateral nuclear cooperation efforts and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent nuclear saber-rattling, has severed trust between Russia and the U.S. and continues to threaten international stability, former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) said this week during a nuclear security panel […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 As weapon systems in the U.S. nuclear triad age out of their service lives in the next few decades, the full House Armed Services Committee will look more closely at modernization, committee Chair Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said this week. “I’m afraid we have grown somewhat complacent about the importance […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 OGDEN, UTAH—The Defense Department might be forced to “look creatively” at funding the estimated $139 billion Ohio-class Replacement, including shifting money from other services, a top Navy official said March 19. “I don’t advocate that at all,” Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, Director of the Navy Warfare Integration Division (N91) said […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration released this week the latest update to its Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, outlining a plan that it says balances near- and long-term stockpile, infrastructure and science and technology needs—as long as Congress provides necessary funding for the program. “NNSA has great confidence in its ability […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 OGDEN, Utah —Almost two years after the Air Force began the Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Construct (FISAC) and as life extension work continues on systems such as the B-52 and Trident D5, the private nuclear weapons industry is confronting issues related to parts obsolescence, supply chain, employee recruitment and […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 The House and Senate Budget Committees this week released their  versions of the Fiscal Year 2016 budget resolution, creating cautious optimism among nuclear weapons complex observers about how much extra defense money—if any—will be available to lawmakers in Fiscal Year 2016 for nuclear modernization efforts. The Senate Budget Committee adhered […]

Pat Host Defense Daily 3/20/2015 The Air Force’s secretive and lucrative Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program is progressing according to plan, according to a key service official. Assistant Air Force Secretary for Acquisition Bill LaPlante told a Senate panel March 19, when asked about an increase in the program’s unit cost, that the $550 […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Fourteen vacant National Nuclear Security Administration facilities have languished since 2009 without being decontaminated or decommissioned due to a lack of funding, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management may not be properly prioritizing the facilities it takes from the NNSA, the Government Accountability Office said in a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson has been nominated to serve as the next deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command. Wilson has commanded Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) since October 2013, during which he advocated for an across-the-board portfolio of nuclear modernization for the air- and ground-based legs of the nuclear […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—In order to limit the impacts of proposed budget cuts to new processing missions at Savannah River’s H-Canyon facility, the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office is working with the National Nuclear Security Administration on H-Canyon funding, DOE Savannah River Manager Dave Moody said here this week. Programs […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—The National Nuclear Security Administration is planning to move forward this fiscal year with three contracting opportunities to be set aside for small businesses, an agency official said this week. Such opportunities will include a contract to provide NEPA support services, which is set to be worth approximately $125 […]