Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

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. 

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, […]