Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists this week moved the minute hand of its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” two ticks closer to midnight, citing unchecked climate change and global nuclear weapons modernization. The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board announced Jan. 22 that it was moving the clock from 5 minutes to 3 […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The U.S. should pay attention to its nuclear structure and nuclear relations with Russia, because “we do not want, above all, a nuclear war to erupt,” during a period which has seen Russian President Vladimir Putin invoke the threat of nuclear weapons while invading eastern Ukraine, former national security advisor […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor  1/23/2015 In a move that could lead to financial penalties, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement is planning to investigate an incident at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that left seven workers exposed to radiation while working on a project for the Y-12 National Security Complex. In a Jan. 16 letter […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Department of Energy’s Inspector General has temporarily yanked an already-released review of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Secure Transportation from its website over concerns about the accuracy of the report. The IG only released a summary of the “Official Use Only” report in November, but it said […]

Kaptur Named as Ranking Member of House E&W Panel Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 Senate Republicans officially named Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) this week to serve as chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration work. Alexander had been expected to assume the top […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The first of three Conference on Disarmament (CD) sessions scheduled for this year convened on Jan. 19 in Geneva with renewed optimism—though no concrete signs—that the international negotiating body can break a longstanding deadlock and move any disarmament discussions forward. Speaking at the CD on Jan. 20, Amb. Robert Wood, […]

CNS, Metal Trades Council Begin Negotiations on New Bargaining Agreement NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security began negotiating a new labor agreement this week with the Metal Trades Council, the union representing Pantex Plant workers. George Rangel, a spokesman for Consolidated Nuclear Security, said the contractor won’t discuss pending issues that will come […]

NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 IN CONGRESS Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters on Jan. 22 that Defense Secretary nominee Ash Carter will appear before his committee for his confirmation hearing Feb. 4, then will return a month later to testify about the next defense spending plan. McCain was cited in a DefenseNews […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 James Doyle, the Los Alamos National Laboratory nonproliferation analyst who claimed he was let go by the lab after writing a paper advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons, has had his second whistleblower claim accepted by the National Nuclear Security Administration and began mediation with the lab this week. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 During what is expected to be his last official visit to a U.S. nuclear enterprise base as Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel on Jan. 13 told B-2 airmen serving at Whiteman AFB that the Air Force cannot afford to fall behind in nuclear modernization efforts and said work on the long-range […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 The head of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry this week said Russia could revise its commitment to bilateral nonproliferation and disarmament, including the New START Treaty, the main agreement governing U.S.-Russian bilateral nuclear arms reductions, because of what Russia deems “unfriendly” U.S. actions, […]

Full Ownership of Bannister Federal Complex Shifted to NNSA NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 The General Services Administration and the National Nuclear Security Administration signed a Memorandum of Agreement this week to shift ownership of Kansas City’s Bannister Federal Complex to the NNSA, marking an important step in the redevelopment of the site. Bannister was home to […]

LLNL Develops Realistic Radiological/Nuclear Training Technology NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said this week that it has developed a technology that will help train first responders on radiological and nuclear hazards. The technology involves injecting simulated radiation signals into the analog simplifiers of real radiation detectors that are used by first responders and […]

NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 IN THE NNSA Ken Ivey has been named senior scientific and technical advisor in the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, which oversees operations at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants. Ivey, who has been serving in the position on an acting basis, will be based at Pantex. Ivey has held […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Three senior senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee last week asked President Obama to consider retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jonathan George as the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. George would replace Andrew Weber, who left the position for a slot at […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on Jan. 14 said the Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSO) will be analyzed under a new set of acquisition criteria which will assess the relationship between costs and capability requirements. Officials to achieve a lower cost estimate by slightly relaxing capability requirements. The future […]

Boeing Hints at Possible Protest After Debrief From Air Force Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Northrop Grumman Technical Services on Wednesday won a $963.5 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, beating out Boeing to sustain the Minuteman 3 Ground Subsystem until Jan. 31, 2020, as part of the Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Concept (FISAC). If Northrop Grumman […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 The Union of Concerned Scientists is continuing its opposition to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, recommending in a report released this week that the controversial project be abandoned in favor of less expensive options. The report, “Excess Plutonium Disposition,” was authored by UCS physicist Edwin […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security is taking a “deliberate” approach to improving operations at the two sites, CNS Chief Operating Officer Morgan Smith said late last week in response to reports that federal managers had been unhappy with the pace of improvements. CNS developed an “operational excellence plan” last year […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney will meet later this month with commanders and stakeholders who support the Nuclear Enterprise to discuss investment and progress of the Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) apparatus, Haney said this week. Hours later in her State of the Air Force Pentagon speech, […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 The year-end performance evaluations for NNSA contractors did not include any information on the first six-month period of Consolidated Nuclear Security, but top officials at CNS have indicated they think they’re doing a pretty good job. CNS’ first evaluation will be released as part of Fiscal Year 2015 evaluations. “I […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Lockheed Martin is competing for the Propulsion Subsystem contract to be awarded as part of the Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Concept (FISAC), a company spokeswoman told NS&D Monitor late last week. Slated to be the last of four subsystem contracts awarded under the new Air Force-managed FISAC contracting structure, the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 The Hill AFB division of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center on Tuesday released a Request for Proposals for Reentry Field Support Equipment (RFSE), which will replace 40-plus-year-old nuclear warhead test equipment consisting of the Reentry System Test Set (RSTS) and Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle (SERV) Field Test Set (SFTS). […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Echoing the Obama Administration’s current stance, an independent panel of national security experts on Jan. 14 reiterated its recommendation published last month in a State Department report that the U.S. should work to bring Russia back in compliance with the INF Treaty and not withdraw from the agreement in an […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security is seeking a source for up to 6,800 metric tons of high purity depleted uranium metal and related material and services, the company said last week as it released a sources sought notice, though it’s unclear what the material might be for.  In the Jan. […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 For the first time in years, Y-12 and Pantex are in compliance with Department of Energy 350.1, which governs how much federal contractors can spend on employee benefits. Consolidated Nuclear Security, which that took over management of the two nuclear weapons plants on July 1 as part of a new […]

High Flux Isotope Reactor Back in Operation After Long Outage NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor came back into operation this week after a recent maintenance period. During the 32-day maintenance-and-refueling outage that was longer than normal because of the holidays, ORNL workers made modifications to the “deep well pump” […]

Sen. Joe Donnelly to Serve as Ranking Member Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/9/2015 Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is in line to be the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, NS&D Monitor has learned. Sessions served as the ranking member of the panel for the last four years and the top Republican on […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/9/2015 Kansas City National Security Campus contractor Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies was the top performer in the weapons complex during Fiscal Year 2014, earning 96 percent of its at risk fee ($28.8 million out of $30 million available). Honeywell also earned an additional $14.4 million in fixed Work For Others […]