Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

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 […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 The Obama Administration and Congress should work to make sure the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has enough funding and resources to address current and projected necessary investments in the overall naval nuclear enterprise, according to a report released March 19 by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). The report “Naval […]

White House Official Named LLNL Dep. Director for Science and Technology NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy official Patricia Falcone has been named the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and will take over her new position April 7. Falcone was detailed from Sandia National […]

French Ambassador Tours MOX Facility NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 French Ambassador Gerard Araud visited the Savannah River Site this week, touring the controversial Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project. Araud was accompanied by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and several other French officials and met with AREVA Chief Executive Officer Gary Mignogna as well as French employees […]

NS&D Monitor 3/20/2015 IN CONGRESS National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz, acting DOE cleanup chief Mark Whitney and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Vice Chairman Jesse Roberson will testify before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee next week. The hearing will be held at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 2118 of the Rayburn […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The U.S. currently possesses about 7,100 total nuclear warheads, including 2,340 retired and under Department of Energy custody, about 2,080 deployed and about 2,680 in storage, according to a report recently released by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). “At the beginning of 2015, the U.S. Defense Department maintained a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The Air Force plans to award multiple contracts for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent’s (GBSD’s) Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase, and will down-select for the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, according to industry Q&As released March 9. The Air Force has not decided whether it will award the […]

Senate Appropriators Suggest Hard Decisions Await NNSA Budget Request Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz told Senate appropriators this week that the Uranium Processing Facility planned for the Y-12 National Security Complex was on track to be completed by 2025 within a $6.5 billion budget cap. Testifying before the […]

NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums was acquired this week by Access Intelligence, LLC, a business-to-business media and information company headquartered in Rockville, Md., serving the chemical, defense, satellite, aviation, cable, telecommunications, media and public relations markets. The acquisition comes roughly three months after Ed Helminski, the founder of ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums, passed […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The appointment of former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman as the new President and CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. is causing concerns among some on Capitol Hill. During Poneman’s tenure at DOE, the Department played a big role in plans by the company, […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/13/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration awarded a trio of Office of Secure Transportation support services contracts to small business-led teams last month. The NNSA last year decided to break the OST support services contracts into three different vehicles for Training Support Services, Administration Support Services, and Logistics and Fleet Management […]

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 […]