Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Will the Navy fund the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) through its shipbuilding budget, through a separate Navy fund, or through the larger Defense Department account? Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert on March 10 told Senators he wants to find a specific vehicle to appropriate money toward the Sea-Based Deterrence […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 A decision to replace the conventional high explosive (CHE) in the W88 warhead as part of a planned alteration was largely driven by a “problem” with the warhead rather than timing and workforce issues, Nuclear Weapons Council Chairman Frank Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee last week. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 A “new Russian security doctrine” which “explicitly reprioritizes” nuclear forces poses a direct challenge to bilateral disarmament efforts, but the U.S. remains open to engaging Russia on a range of issues affecting strategic stability, according to Tom Countryman, Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation. “We’re also realistic […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration wants Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security to double the rate of purified metal production in Building 9212 in an effort to reduce the Material at Risk (MAR) in the aging facility. Eventually, Building 9212’s capabilities will be replaced as part of the Uranium Processing Facility […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded Electric Boat a $24.3 million modification to a November 2010 sole-source submarine research and development contract, according to a March 6 Defense Department announcement. The modification will involve engineering and technical design services to support research and development of advanced submarine technologies, to […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Interest in the Conference on Disarmament has waned in recent years as progress on disarmament issues has stagnated, and one of the last remaining observers of the forum is calling it quits. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and its disarmament programme Reaching Critical Will said this […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security has acknowledged that implementation of benefit changes at Y-12 and Pantex has not gone as planned or hoped, but a top official recently sent a message to thousands of workers promising to address their complaints and make things better. Morgan Smith, the contractor’s chief operating officer, said […]

Pantex Changing Procedures After Technician Receives ‘Higher Than Anticipated’ Dose NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The Pantex Plant is bolstering its procedures after an instrument technician was exposed to a “higher than anticipated” radiation dose while doing maintenance work in a nuclear materials storage building. The unidentified worker was exposed Jan. 23 while performing maintenance in a Special […]

Sandia Finalizes a Pair of Management Changes NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 Sandia National Laboratories recently finalized a pair of management changes, naming Marianne Walck the head of its California campus and appointing James Peery as its new vice president for defense research. In addition to heading up Sandia’s Livermore, Calif. Laboratory, Walck will also lead the […]

Y-12 Contractor Adjusts Some UPF Design Contracts NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 As the design work on the Uranium Processing Facility transitions to management under Bechtel National via a subcontract with Consolidated Nuclear Security, there have been changes in the workload of the teams participating in the project’s four Basic Ordering Agreements, with some of the companies […]

NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 IN THE NNSA Deputy Energy Secretary Liz Sherwood-Randall made her first trip to the Savannah River Site in her current position last week, quietly visiting a variety of facilities. Among the stops on Sherwood-Randall’s tour was the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, which is the subject of a pair of reviews while […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The procurement timeline for the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRSB) has been pushed back from the spring to summer, and the Air Force will most likely opt to award a cost-plus contract to develop the aircraft, Dr. William LaPlante, Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, told House lawmakers this week.  Northrop […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Modernizing the nation’s nuclear deterrent will begin to create “affordability problems” starting in 2021, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee this week. The 2021 period is just outside the five-year window included in budget documents earlier this […]

Jeremy L. Dillon NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Following a $5.4 billion loss for 2014, AREVA this week announced plans to cut costs and re-focus the company on core business. The plan calls for AREVA to refocus on core nuclear processes, re-forge the partnership with EDF, and strengthen the development of its presence in China in an […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The Air Force’s new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is estimated to cost $40-$60 billion overall, according to an industry official involved in program discussions. Budget documents indicate the Air Force has programmed about $945.9 million for the follow-on to the Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile in the five-year Future Years’ […]

NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 IN CONGRESS Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said this week that she will not seek reelection in 2016, opening up the top Democratic slot on the powerful spending panel. Mikulski, 78, has spent the last 30 years in the Senate, becoming chairman of the Senate […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Days before the 45th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO, the U.S. and other European countries of violating the NPT by conducting joint nuclear exercises. Russia in the early 1990s reduced its arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons by one-third and centralized its intercontinental […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/6/2015 Former Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman has been named president and chief executive officer of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. Poneman, who left his DOE post in October 2014 as the longest serving deputy secretary, is known for his DOE work on nonproliferation and nuclear energy policy, […]

NNSA Preparing Supplement Analysis Linked to New UPF Plans NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has confirmed it is “in the process” of preparing a Supplement Analysis to determine if the agency needs to revise Y-12’s site-wide environmental impact statement because of changing plans for the Uranium Processing Facility. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on March 4 nudged fellow lawmakers on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to bankroll the Navy’s National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund (SBDF), which was included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act as a separate fund from the service’s general shipbuilding account.  “We’re now in the beginning […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration officials defended the agency’s decision to accelerate work on the W80-4 warhead in questioning this week from Democrats and Republicans on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, making a case for additional funding for the warhead that will be used on the Air Force’s new […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz told House appropriators this week that he is not in favor of changing the name of the Department of Energy as a Congressional advisory panel recommended last year, but declined to say whether he supports one of the more extreme recommendations of the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 President Barack Obama has nominated Gen. Robin Rand for commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), a post currently held by Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, according to a Feb. 27 announcement by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Rand has more than 5,000 flight hours, primarily in F-16s, T-38s and T-37s, […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 B-2 availability is increasing because of about 20 projects that help the Air Force manage its signature and parts supply, Lt. Gen.  Mike Holmes, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements told members of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Subcommittee on March 4. Holmes […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Leaders of strategic deterrence advocacy groups are reacting positively to the Air Force’s implementation of the Force Improvement Program (FIP), which began in February 2014 to address morale issues and equipment flaws in the service’s nuclear enterprise. “We think the Force Improvement Program is the right program at the right […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The Congressional Budget Office has released information supplementing its January nuclear weapons cost study for Fiscal Year 2015-2024, which shows defense costs for all three legs of the nuclear triad peaking in either 2022 or 2023. The study estimates total government spending on nuclear weapons at $348 billion during the […]

IG: Lab Lost Out on Licensing Revenue After Patent Software Glitch NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 A software glitch caused Sandia National Laboratories to miss maintenance payments on 14 patents, forcing the laboratory to lose out on $119,000 in licensing and royalty revenue, the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office said in a report released last week. The 14 […]

Worker OK After Puncture Wound at Tritium Facilities; SRNS Re-examining Work Areas for Hazards NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is re-examining all radiological work areas at the Savannah River Site’s Tritium Facilities for potential hazards after an employee received a puncture wound to their hand after a glovebox slip-up. According to SRNS spokeswoman […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Boeing and Lockheed Martin are working with the Air Force on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) guidance set, known as the Concept Design and Architecture Guidance (CDAG), to explore concept formulation, technology evaluations, and risk mitigation for the technology, according to spokespeople from those companies. The two defense giants are […]