Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 53 defense-related transuranic waste shipments in May, based on revised figures. DOE revised the figures on its public website for WIPP around June 27 after learning the website initially failed to update and record the 24 shipments that took place between May […]

The U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center may hold an industry day in late August to gauge industry capacity to support a possible intercontinental ballistic missile Development, Operations, and Sustainment program for the Boeing Minuteman III (MMIII). The industry day would be held at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah. Such a contract would “ensure […]

The House Appropriations Committee voted 36-27 last week to pass its $831.5 billion defense spending bill, as lawmakers reiterated the uncertainty of advancing appropriations legislation without having received full budget details from the Trump administration.  According to the bill summary, the bill supports modernization for the nuclear triad, which includes the B-21 Raider, the Columbia-class […]

The Senate Armed Services chairman last week argued the White House Naval budget request shortchanges regular annual appropriations by wrongly assuming gaps will be filled via reconciliation. “I must say, I am deeply disappointed with the administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Navy,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in his opening statement during […]

Kevin McCoy has been appointed as BWX Technologies’ newest chief nuclear officer, the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear fuel company announced Monday. McCoy, formerly the company’s Government Operations president since 2022, will be responsible for supporting the Department of Defense and Navy in accelerating Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production. As McCoy steps into his new role, Joseph […]

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), in a naval hearing last week, said an aircraft carrying a B61 bomber will be a “much reduced cost” alternative to the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile aboard a conventional submarine. “I am not opposed to, you know, having a tactical nuclear option at sea,” Kelly said at a Senate Armed Services […]

The Government Accountability Office last week recommended the National Nuclear Security Administration formalize plans for transitioning responsibilities for radiological safety in Ukraine to Ukrainian partner organizations. “While NNSA [National Nuclear Security Administration] took steps to manage fraud risk at the individual contract level, it did not conduct a program-level fraud risk assessment tailored to its […]

BARKSDALE AFB, La.— Gen. Thomas Bussiere, head of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) , told Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily he is working on approving three plans to replace Minuteman III silos for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. Bussiere, the head of AFGSC since December 2022, discussed the command’s modernization efforts in an […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expressed their disapproval Wednesday to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on a proposed 11% cut in the Department of Energy’s budget for the labs. “I love the national labs, they deliver tremendous value to us in our history, and they will in the […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said the National Nuclear Security Administration’s upgrade to safety controls, including to gloveboxes, is a “significant improvement” to safety at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. The safety watchdog’s comments come in a letter dated May 21 to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, as well as to Teresa Robbins, […]

SAVANNAH, GA.—With interest in nuclear energy the highest it has been in years, attaining public trust is vital to development of new reactors and waste disposal projects. That was a recurring theme here during Exchange Monitor’s 19th Radwaste Summit. Only a few years ago, state legislatures across the country would propose a handful of nuclear-related […]

U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said on Thursday that the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile has consumed the most of his time than any program thus far in his two and a half weeks on the job. Meink said this as the Air Force restructures the program after a Nunn-McCurdy cost […]

WASHINGTON, D.C – The Donald Trump administration’s nuclear-related executive orders can open up the international nuclear market through a bolstered domestic nuclear supply, a panel said at a summit Tuesday.  A panel of executives from BWX Technologies, NuScale Power, Terrestrial Energy, Urenco USA and Westinghouse spoke on the elements for global success in the nuclear […]

Centrus Energy executive Shahram Ghasemian will step down from the company later this month, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission Filing. In the June 6 SEC filing, Ghasemian, who is the company’s senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary, has given notice to Centrus that he will resign from his […]

The Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has turned to a former DOE executive with more than 35 years in nuclear management to succeed its retiring CEO. Flour-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Friday announced Jeff Griffin, a senior vice president, has been picked to succeed Dennis Carr […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in testimony at Congress Tuesday that there should be “clarity” on the reorganization and workforce shrinking at the Department of Energy. “The Department of Energy is filled with a bunch of tremendous, hardworking, committed men and women trying to better the direction for our country,” Wright said at a […]

The Secretary of the Navy Tuesday said the government should consider having the two submarine shipbuilders compete on the next version of the Virginia-class attack submarine (SSN). “I think in the next Virginia class, we have to really consider having HII [Huntington Ingalls Industries] build and EB build versus the two of them, co-building. I […]

The Pentagon is placing big bets that the eventual reconciliation bill will provide large portions of the fiscal 2026 funding for some major weapons programs such as the Golden Dome project and B-21 bomber, according to a document obtained by affiliate publication Defense Daily. These bets come as Senate appropriators have cautioned against leaning too […]

Nusano, a West Valley, Utah-based physics company, announced in a press release Wednesday the launch of a program to produce up to 350 metric tons of high-assay, low-enriched uranium by 2029. The high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) program at Nusano makes it the first private company in the U.S. to offer a HALEU-based nuclear fuel solution […]

Israeli officials took credit for attacks on Tehran’s military and nuclear facility early Friday morning, even without approval from President Donald Trump or the International Atomic Energy Agency, media outlets like the New York Times reported. The attack comes just before the United States and Iran were to resume high-level talks over Tehran’s nuclear program […]

The Department of the Air Force and the Defense Logistics Agency’s energy office plan to award California-based Oklo, Inc. a 30-year, firm fixed price contract for a microreactor, likely at Eielson AFB, Alaska. The contract is contingent upon Oklo receiving a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Oklo “would be required to site, develop, […]

Senate Armed Services committee chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) released legislative text to the House-passed reconciliation bill Tuesday that would seek $96 million for classified nuclear deterrence programs. The $96 million is a $74 million increase from the House of Representatives version of the bill, passed in May with a razor-thin majority. It is part of […]

On Monday, the United Kingdom’s defense minister said the government plans to ultimately field 12 SSN-AUKUS attack submarines. Minster of Defense John Healey’s assessment came in the foreword of a new defense review report. Under the tripartite AUKUS agreement, the United States and U.K. agree to help Australia field nuclear-powered attack submarines, starting with at […]

China could have 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2035, an increase from 400 now, according to a Defense Intelligence Agency single page unclassified graphic released  in mid-May. The graphic illustrates potential threats to the U.S. Homeland that the Golden Dome would guard against. The assessment, called “Golden Dome for America: Current and Future Missile Threats […]

Ukraine’s Pavutina–“Spider Web”–operation points to budget decisions ahead for the U.S. Air Force in hardening its bases in the United States and abroad, especially in the Indo-Pacific, where analysts have pointed to the significant kamikaze drone threat. More than 100 small quadcopter kamikaze drones hidden in trucks took off on cue on Sunday to destroy […]

The Department of Defense, in an online source sought notice May 29, requested industry responses for demilitarizing the Boeing LGM-30 Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile motors. The notice on procurement site sam.gov said the Space Systems Command’s Rocket Systems Launch Program is collecting information on vendor capabilities for demilitarization of motors through a method called […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the prime contractor at Y-12 National Security Complex, signed an agreement May 30 with University of Tennessee to create a new nuclear deterrence- and security-focused center in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The partners will develop the National Security Prototype Center to use both Y-12 and University of Tennessee resources to enhance manufacturing, a […]

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request is seeking $45 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), which is 7% more than the $42 million enacted for fiscal 2025. “This increase to safety oversight is imperative for DNFSB to keep pace with NNSA’s [the National Nuclear Security Administration] significantly increased weapons production schedule […]