Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Uncertainty over a potential government shutdown is rising after the Senate last Friday Sept. 19 rejected a House-passed stopgap funding bill that also included spending flexibility for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons activities.  After the House earlier in the day narrowly approved a GOP-led continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open through Nov. […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with his security council Monday that Moscow will respect the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for one year past its expiration date. Putin said Moscow would adhere to the limits of the nuclear arms reduction treaty for one more year if the United States does […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]

Environmental health officials reemphasized Tuesday that the radioactive wasp issue at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, one that made national headlines last month, is not currently considered a concern to the public. During a bimonthly meeting with the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB), site officials fielded questions about the July 3 discovery of […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., expects to meet its fiscal 2025 target of receiving 425 shipments of transuranic waste within days, a DOE manager said here Wednesday. As of this week, WIPP has received 419 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste from across the weapons complex, […]

Brandon Williams, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the National Nuclear Security Administration, was sworn into his role Thursday morning, according to James McConnell, NNSA’s associate principal deputy administrator. McConnell announced the news during a panel discussion shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern Time at the Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop in Arlington, Va.  Williams […]

The U.S. needs to revise its anti-proliferation strategy by creating new compacts with allies, pursuing diplomacy with peer adversaries and revitalizing nuclear exports, the Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security said in a report. The bipartisan task force, consisting of former senior government officials and experts on national security, published the report […]

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Every stage of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile has been tested at this point by the Air Force and Northrop Grumman, a company executive said here Monday.  Ben Davies, corporate vice president and president of Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman made the remark during a panel discussion on modernizing the nuclear […]

This fall, the Defense Department may approve an updated acquisition strategy for the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM before a possible re-approval of the program for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) by early to mid-2027. “We are definitely making sure we get the restructure of the program right,” Brig. Gen. William Rogers, program executive […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) does not have a plan to safely continue operating in an aged uranium processing facility until the new one is ready, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) next-generation factory for nuclear-weapons secondary stages at the Oak Ridge […]

WASHINGTON – House Republicans Friday morning passed a short term stopgap spending bill to run through Nov. 21 that would keep funding at fiscal 2025 levels aside from exceptions including the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons activities. The final vote was 217-212, with two Republicans voting against the bill and one Democrat voting for the […]

The Australian government Sunday committed to providing $8 billion (U.S.) to a shipbuilder project in Western Australia with aims to maintain and build conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) under the AUKUS deal with the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The Australian government specifically called this $8 billion investment (roughly $12 billion worth of Australian currency) a […]

Technology provider Parsons announced Wednesday the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded the company a $13 million multiple award contract for deploying systems for counter-nuclear smuggling in the Indo-Pacific. The task order calls to deliver “end-to-end” support for counter-nuclear smuggling systems in 18 countries in the region, the press release said. Support could come in […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) prime at the Savannah River Site is seeking to speed construction on the plutonium pits facility in South Carolina. Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said in a Monday press release it is working with its partners to accelerate the major NNSA project. The release said crews are opening […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 55 waste shipments in August.  That’s slightly more than the 50 shipments sent to the facility in August 2024, and the 48 WIPP received in July. The figures are according to DOE’s public website for the underground salt mine disposal site.  Of […]

The second U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman has arrived at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Calif., for flight testing, the service said Thursday. “With the arrival of the second B-21 Raider, our flight test campaign gains substantial momentum,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a statement. The Air Force […]

The Air Force inventory of silos able to launch Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) is in no immediate danger of dropping below the threshold of 400 established by Congress in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. This information comes as the Air Force transitions from the 1970s-era Boeing LGM-30G Minuteman III to the […]

The House of Representatives fiscal 2026 national defense authorization bill, passed last week, would require the U.S. Air Force to submit to lawmakers a plan to sustain aging components on Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The annual plan would need to be submitted on LGM-35A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) by Boeing until the […]

BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced Tuesday the award of a contract valued at $1.5 billion to support national defense-focused domestic uranium enrichment for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear company will begin tackling the list of requirements for building the Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) pilot plant, the […]

The United States and the United Kingdom concluded a joint summit Thursday by putting out a memorandum of understanding on “technology prosperity,” including cooperation on issues from nuclear energy to artificial intelligence. While the deal between the Trans-Atlantic allies seeks to deepen collaboration on all-things-nuclear, it also sets out a goal of shedding dependence on […]

Most of President Donald Trump’s picks to be leaders in the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex were finally confirmed Thursday 51-47, some after waiting on the bench since May after being voted through at the committee level. The nuclear weapons complex nominees confirmed en bloc this week are: Brandon Williams, the nominee to head […]

The House passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 231-to-196 Wednesday, after two days of debating around 300 amendments. Four Republicans voted against the bill, while one did not vote. Meanwhile, 17 Democrats voted for the bill, while four did not vote. The House version would authorize $25.4 billion for the […]

Rik Geiersbach was just appointed chief strategy officer for BWX Technologies and will report directly to CEO Rex Geveden, the nuclear fuel company announced Monday on its website. “As chief strategy officer, Rik will lead the development, execution and integration of BWXT’s enterprise strategy and merger and acquisition initiatives,” Geveden said in the release. “His […]

Management and operating (M&O) contractors at National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have not developed reliable cost estimates for fixed-price construction subcontracts, the Government Accountability Office said. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has a cost estimating guide that established 12 steps that “reflect commercial best practices to help agencies develop comprehensive, well documented, accurate, and credible […]

Construction plans have been approved for the Sentinel missile wings at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), Wyo. and Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told the Exchange Monitor in the Senate speaker’s lobby Tuesday. The 90th wing and the 341st wings at these bases would make up two out of three missile wings […]

As the Air Force and Department of Defense restructure the Sentinel program, the Government Accountability Office notes there is a shift to starting to convert to new silos at the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), Wyo. “Despite the delays stemming from the Sentinel restructuring, [Air Force] Global Strike Command has […]

Urenco USA has started producing low-enriched uranium with its second new cascade of gas centrifuges at its enrichment facility in New Mexico, the company said Wednesday. Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European Urenco Group, said it started the cascade ahead of schedule and on budget, according to its Wednesday press release. The newest centrifuge […]