Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

New Mexico is citing the Department of Energy and its prime contractor at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) with violations and giving them until Sept. 24 to deliver a plan for fixing aging assets at the disposal site for transuranic waste. An order by a branch of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) gives […]

While the Senate’s appropriations bill for the Department of Defense includes a $21.7 billion topline increase, many nuclear modernization programs in the DoD got a reduction. The Senate Appropriations Committee last Thursday voted to advance its $852.5 billion fiscal 2026 defense spending bill, approving a $21.7 billion topline increase that boosts funds for shipbuilding, munitions […]

The Air Force has not divulged how much it reprogrammed in fiscal 2024 funds from the Sentinel to modify the Qatari jet for use as a stand-in Air Force One by President Donald Trump. The Qatari gift of a Boeing 747-8i luxury airliner to the U.S. for use as Air Force One was a gift […]

Russia “no longer considers itself bound” to a self-imposed treaty between the United States and Moscow that prohibits deploying intermediate-range missiles, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was a pact made in 1987, during the Cold War, which banned ballistic and cruise missiles launched from land with […]

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va. in the second quarter, which the company attributed to strong performances in government operations. “We had exceptionally strong second quarter 2025 financial results driven by solid operational performance and pacing of work, particularly in Government Operations, which was complemented by robust bookings in both segments, leading to record […]

A federal safety panel wants to know how the Department of Energy will ensure nuclear safety given reduced staffing and restructuring. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) on July 25 formally requested DOE brief it within 30 days on continuing to ensure safety at the department’s nuclear cleanup and weapons stockpile branches. “Per statute, […]

With Congress out on recess this month, a busy September looms with authorization bills requests in both chambers to finalize by Oct. 1 and pending nominations in the Senate for the Department of Energy.  Lawmakers will return facing a looming government funding deadline at the end of September, with a continuing resolution, which has become […]

Earnings fell at Centrus Energy, based in Bethesda, Maryland, in the second quarter, which the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer attributed to a decrease in the volume of uranium sold. Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were $28.9 million, or $1.59 a diluted share, down from $30.6 million, or $1.89 a […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said last week the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General needs better cost estimates for audits of DOE’s big contractors. Four years ago, DOE’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) set up an Incurred Cost Audits Division in order to get a better handle on management and operating (M&O) contractors. […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says demolition and disposal has been completed at the old Albuquerque Complex on the grounds of the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The $8.4 million demolition, started in March 2024, was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alabama District through an interagency […]

Earnings rose at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, Tenn., in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, which the federal utility attributed to higher rates and sales. The net earnings of the third quarter of fiscal 2025 ended June 30 were $212 million, up from $181 million, in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Quarterly […]

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is starting market research to find an “innovative missile defense launcher” and support equipment technologies that could be delivered within two years as part of the Golden Dome initiative. A Request For Information (RFI) published last week said the agency is seeking responses encompassing system-level, component-level, upgrades to existing systems, […]

The Department of Energy announced Monday that Rick Stockburger was appointed as chief executive officer of the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI). FESI is the DOE’s first independent agency-related foundation, the press release said, and it aims to accelerate commercializing energy technology, including next-generator nuclear technology, and expand collaboration between the private and […]

Chief of Naval Operations nominee Adm. Daryl Caudle told a Senate confirmation hearing last week that  shipyard recruitment has to expand and that more outsourcing production is needed.  The Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from Caudle on July 24.  “There’s more outsourcing opportunity that we need to do, even for our Virginia-class, the modular […]

Australia and the United Kingdom signed a treaty July 26 with aims to deepen long-term cooperation on developing nuclear-power submarines under the AUKUS agreement, a statement by both defence ministries said. The Geelong Treaty, which Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and U.K.’s Secretary of State for Defense signed in Victoria, puts a 50-year commitment to collaborate […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) said Pantex management and operating contractor PanTeXas Deterrence concluded reviewing nuclear explosive operations in one of its weapons programs, according to a July 4 report. The prime contractor at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) site, has a number of issues […]

Sandia National Laboratories has developed a high-security mobile vault to be rapidly deployed and safeguard critical materials in remote locations, according to a July 15 press release by the lab. The project is in response to a request by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Stockpile Responsiveness Program, and is led by Sandia’s Transportation Safeguards […]

Northrop Grumman said on Tuesday that the company and the U.S. Air Force completed the first qualification test of a stage-two solid rocket motor for the LGM-35A Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The test was completed at the Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tullahoma, Tenn., and “conducted in a vacuum chamber simulating flight conditions, […]

Iran agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Tehran in the coming weeks to discuss relations between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran’s deputy foreign minister told reporters last week. The IAEA told Reuters that IAEA director general Rafael Grossi was “actively engaging with all parties involved in the Iran nuclear […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) on Thursday reported a drop in second quarter net earnings despite higher sales largely due to lower performance on the Virginia-class submarine program and aircraft carrier construction at the Newport News Shipbuilding segment. Net income fell 12% to $152 million, $3.86 earnings per share (EPS), from $173 million ($4.38 EPS) a […]

Earnings rose at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the second quarter, despite what the engineering and construction company described as hesitancy in world trade markets. Over the next 12 months, Fluor expects to pursue Department of Energy contracts for work at the Savannah River Plutonium Pits Project and to support high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel […]

BWX Technologies, a Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear company, announced Tuesday that its subsidiary installed and tested a furnace to manufacture TRISO nuclear fuel for advanced reactor technology. TRISO fuel comprises a uranium fuel core surrounded by carbon and silicone layers. The furnace solidifies molds for TRISO particles before the ingredients become an advanced form of fuel […]

The Department of Energy should soon publish its Supplement Analysis and Amended Record of Decision for blending down roughly 2.2 metric tons of highly enriched uranium in order to make about 3.1 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The document should soon be published in the […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency in charge of managing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack. While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday that three Chinese actors were exploiting vulnerabilities in […]

If the Pentagon decides to increase production of the U.S. Air Force’s new B-21 stealth bomber it will require further investment by Northrop Grumman, which expects higher returns for early production aircraft, CEO Kathy Warden said Tuesday. Those investments would be on top of a $226 million pre-tax charge Northrop Grumman incurred in the first […]

A five-acre grass fire broke out near the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. Monday, a local news outlet reported. The lab fire broke out at 1 p.m. Pacific time Monday. It started on Greenville Road near Patterson Pass Road, according to a July 21 article by a local Patch newsletter.  […]

A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests. More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  […]

On a 52 to 46 party line vote on Thursday, the GOP-controlled Senate confirmed Matthew Lohmeier as the 29th Undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force–the service’s number two civilian. In written answers to Senate Armed Services Committee questions before Lohmeier’s nomination hearing on May 1, he said that nuclear modernization, including the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A […]