Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report published Sep. 5, gave two recommendations for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to meet its goal to upgrade and repair its fusion facilities. The goal, the report said, is to meet a 10-year plan NNSA submitted to Congress in January 2023, requesting $492 million over six […]

The Senate Thursday, after a couple tries and failed attempts, finally voted 53-43 to invoke cloture on restoring en bloc consideration of President Donald Trump’s nominations. The move has implications for the president’s nominees to head nuclear-related offices within the Department of Energy, all of whom have cleared committee but await floor votes. Brandon Williams […]

Progress “has been made” between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog’s director general Rafael Grossi said in his introductory statement to the Board of Governors meeting Sept. 8 in Vienna. “We have attentively followed the most recent developments in Tehran, in particular the Parliament of Iran’s adoption on 25 June of […]

The Department of Energy announced recently it will provide over $35 million toward 42 projects with aims to advance emerging energy technologies at DOE national laboratories related to nuclear energy and artificial intelligence. The awards were made through DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund, which has a program in fiscal 2025 called the Core Laboratory Infrastructure for […]

BWX Technologies and Kairos Power have agreed to work together to explore commercial production of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel to supply Kairos and other customers. Under the agreement, the joint team will explore opportunities to use Kairos’s TRISO Development Lab at its Albuquerque, N.M. campus, BWXT Innovation Campus in Lynchburg, Va. and BWXT’s existing TRISO […]

Five organizations are being tasked with developing missile prototype designs for the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile program, according to an emailed press release by the National Security Technology Accelerator. The contracting platform National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), upon inquiry from the Exchange Monitor, said Leidos, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman were awarded as prime […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Venado supercomputer has started running a series of OpenAI models to complete national security research for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, the Department of Energy announced Aug. 28. The Venado supercomputer, which DOE says is the 19th fastest supercomputer in the world, moved to a classified network earlier this year, according […]

Satellite images show construction has intensified at a facility linked to Israel’s suspected nuclear weapons program, AP News said this week. The images could imply that Israel is “quietly expanding its nuclear arsenal,” the article alleged, adding Israel could face international criticism for growing a secret nuclear program while bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.  Meanwhile, Israel […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has tackled all but a few third-party recommendations to improve its culture over the past decade but suffers from a depleted board, according to a new report.  Progress is tough with the five-person board probably slipping to one member, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its report […]

The Department of Energy, including its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, has taken action to address weaknesses in its unclassified cybersecurity program, according to an August report by the Office of Inspector General. The report, which evaluated the program at 29 DOE locations from January 2024 through May 2025, said that programs and sites, after […]

The Senate voted Thursday to proceed with floor debate on its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with the House to follow next week. The Senate voted 84-to-14 on the motion to invoke cloture, or to initiate the process for a debate on the bill, Tuesday evening. The chamber voted 83-13 to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officially said alternatives to construction of a new 14-mile powerline would not be a “reliable or redundant” electrical upgrade for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to its floodplain statement of findings. The document outlined alternatives, including using wind, solar, a gas turbine, and even a small […]

In a nail-biting finish, the House passed its version of the fiscal 2026 Energy and Water Appropriations bill on the floor Thursday 214-213 after two days of debate and amendments. The four Republicans that voted against the bill were Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Scott Perry (Penn.). Not a […]

The E3 countries, consisting of France, Britain and Germany, initiated a process Thursday to reimpose sanctions on Iran through a snapback mechanism in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the E3 has “ laid out a clear case of Iran’s continuing ‘significant non-performance’ of its […]

Centrus Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with two South Korean companies to explore investment in Centrus’ uranium enrichment facilities at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. The MOU between Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), POSCO International and Centrus is non-binding. But the deal also calls for the three companies […]

The Department of Energy has announced the three companies it has conditionally agreed to provide the second round of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) allocation for advanced nuclear projects. The three companies awarded are: Antares Nuclear (based in California) Standard Nuclear (based in Oak Ridge, Tenn.) Abilene Christian University/Natura Resources (based in Texas) Antares Nuclear will […]

A provision in the Senate’s version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could protect employees in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA included a section that, if included in the eventual conference version with the House […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is teaming up with Anthropic to build a tool that can determine whether artificial intelligence is providing knowledge on nuclear weapons that can be used for nefarious purposes. Anthropic, a 2021 San Francisco-based AI safety and research company that built AI assistant models like Claude, announced last week that […]

The Kursk nuclear power plant experienced a fire due to an attack by Ukrainian drones Aug. 24, the day Ukraine celebrated its independence from the then-Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow officials said. The Kursk region’s governor and the operators at the nuclear plant said on messaging app Telegram that the Ukrainian drone was shot down […]

Laura McGill, director of Sandia National Laboratories, said Monday that she anticipates “no further job losses” due to Sandia’s headcount already being pared by about 400 this fiscal year, according to local publication Source NM. McGill, who took over as director in May, discussed layoffs with New Mexico lawmakers at the Science Technology and Telecommunications […]

Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Gabi Amo (D-R.I.) introduced legislation Aug. 22 to exempt entities already approved for AUKUS work from another Foreign Military Sales requirement, matching a bill introduced in the Senate in June. The bill, dubbed the AUKUS Improvement Act, would specifically exempt the entities previously vetted by the State Department as AUKUS […]

The Office of Inspector General did not find that the National Nuclear Security Administration failed to follow export control regulations, despite complaints to that effect, according to a recent report. The report, published Aug. 7, said the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a complaint through a hotline alleging the DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security […]

The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara,said on a Wednesday webinar that the first Sentinel flight test would be “well prior to” 2028. A Government Accountability Office report earlier this year estimated that the first flight test for the Northrop Grumman-made intercontinental ballistic missile Sentinel […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will deploy Cornelis Networks technology to power Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s high-performance computing cluster “Lynx.” The “Lynx” cluster is a supercomputer with 952 computer nodes that is part of NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing initiatives, which assesses the validity of the U.S. nuclear stockpile through […]

Earnings rose at Leidos, Reston, Va., in the second quarter, which the national security and technology company attributed to controlling expenses in a time of “uncertainty” and some new contract awards.  For this year’s second quarter, Leidos reported a net margin of 9.2% and net income of $393 million on sales of $4.25 billion, up […]

In memory of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima 80 years ago on Aug. 6, 1945, Ghasson Shahrour, a medical expert at the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, wrote that “we cannot stop future Hiroshimas if we’ve allowed today’s Gazas to burn.” “Every August 6, the world is asked to pause—for memory, for reflection, for […]

Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published on Friday Aug. 15, 2025 and Friday Aug. 22, 2025, as part of the Exchange Monitor’s annual August recess.