Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

OMAHA, Neb. — The National Nuclear Security Administration expects to complete assembly of the remaining B61-13 subassemblies by the end of the calendar year, roughly one year ahead of schedule, Administrator Brandon Williams said Thursday. Speaking in an interview with Exchange Monitor on the sidelines of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Deterrence Symposium, Williams highlighted […]

A joint venture between Navarro Research & Engineering and Los Alamos Technical Associates (LATA) has been awarded a subcontract for waste management at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The contract, awarded by Y-12’s Bechtel-led prime Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) could be worth up to $160 million […]

OMAHA, Neb. – Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said here Thursday Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is accelerating plutonium pit production, with the site targeting 100 pits by December 2028. Speaking at the U.S. Strategic Deterrence Symposium, Williams said reforms across NNSA are producing results in major modernization […]

Exchange Monitor is entering its annual August break that occurs while Congress is in recess. As a result, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published on Friday Aug. 14 and Friday Aug. 21. The normal weekly publication schedule will resume on Friday Aug. 28. News folks will still be on duty during the […]

A nuclear watchdog group in New Mexico has filed suit against the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) seeking to force disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of a study concerning costs of plutonium pit production. The complaint was filed July 23 by Nuclear Watch New Mexico in U.S. […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on a framework for a stopgap funding resolution to keep the federal government through Dec. 11 and the full Senate was expected to vote on it before adjourning Friday.  The government’s fiscal year is scheduled to end on Sept. 30. Unless a bill codifies that funding is rolled over […]

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the 2nd quarter, which the government contractor attributed to growing interest in the nuclear industry. Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were $89.1 million, or $0.97 a share, up from $78.5 million, or $0.85 a share, in the year-ago quarter, according to the […]

OMAHA, Neb. — Suspected covert Chinese nuclear testing justifies U.S. preparations to resume nuclear explosive testing on an “equal basis” while pursuing future arms control, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Stability Christopher Yeaw said Wednesday. Speaking at the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Deterrence Symposium, Yeaw said nuclear testing, arms control, modernization […]

OMAHA, Neb. – Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defense for policy, said here Wednesday the United States must pursue arms control while maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent, arguing future agreements must account for China’s rise and evolving proliferation pressures. Speaking at the U.S. Strategic Command’s (STRATCOM) annual Deterrence Symposium, Colby said the administration’s priority is preventing […]

OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Commander Adm. Richard Correll expressed confidence here the United States will smoothly transition from the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system to the Sentinel program, despite ongoing modernization challenges. “So, Minuteman III was designed for a decade. It’s been operating for nearly six decades,” Correll said […]

OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Commander Adm. Richard Correll said the United States is navigating a “once-in-every-other-generation” modernization effort as emerging technologies and a complex threat environment place greater urgency on decisions shaping the future nuclear deterrent. Giving opening remarks at STRATCOM’s annual Deterrence Symposium, Correll said the Pentagon is simultaneously recapitalizing all […]

Pacific Fusion and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have demonstrated the long-term operation of a next-generation pulsed-power technology, with a prototype system surpassing 3,000 electrical pulses, or “shots,” under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The achievement advances the laboratory’s prototype, named Sirius, beyond proof-of-concept and toward Technology Readiness Level 5 by […]

The Australian government July 29 announced Australia’s Bisalloy Steel received a $2 million purchase order from U.S. submarine shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat, the first time an Australian company received such an order under the tripartite AUKUS agreement.  The agreement covers an order for HY80 steel plate to support production and construction of Virginia-class submarines […]

The Navy last week awarded General Dynamics (GD) Electric Boat a contract worth $76.6 billion to build nine Virginia-class Block VI attack submarines (SSNs) and five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) after years of delays. The Navy has been negotiating this deal with prime contractor Electric Boat and HII for up to 10 Block VI […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) last week posted strong second quarter results driven by sales gains across its shipbuilding segments and operating earnings related to work on aircraft carriers and joint ventures in the nuclear and environmental markets. Net income soared 37% to $208 million, $5.27 earnings per share (EPS), from $152 million (3.86 EPS) a […]

Tom Stiehle, HII’s chief financial officer, said in Huntington Ingalls Industries’ second quarter earnings call the company had done “the initial start of the design work for the [Trump-class] battleship [BBG(X)] as well on a limited basis with support and cooperation with the Navy.”  In May, Jason Potter, then-performing the duties of assistant Navy secretary […]

Fusion technology developer Fuse says its new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) reflects a growing role for commercial fusion companies in supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s national security mission. The agreement establishes a framework for research on next-generation fusion technologies, tritium capabilities, higher neutron yields in […]

South Carolinians are split on the federal government’s desire to build a data center at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, with supporters focusing on jobs and technological advances, and detractors expressing concerns about potential environmental impacts.  On July 20, DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced that it tasked Amentum with securing […]

Washington state’s open primary Aug. 4 will decide what two candidates will be on the November ballot to succeed Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to represent the 4th congressional district, which includes the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. There are 11 candidates running for the office that Newhouse is vacating in January, according to the Spokesman-Review […]

A joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and BWX Technologies said Tuesday it is meeting its goals for moving legacy transuranic waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “This fiscal year has been N3B’s most productive year in reducing legacy transuranic […]

With a flammable gas analysis complete, the Department of Energy said Tuesday the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C., could soon be ready to resume shipments of the more radioactive type of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. SRS can soon resume shipping drums of remote-handled transuranic waste […]

Chantilly, Va.- based Amentum said July 23 it has won a contract, worth $85 million spread over three years, to design and overhaul key infrastructure for the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program. The work will take place at the Naval Reactors Facility located at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, according to an Amentum […]

Legislation introduced this week in the House Science, Space and Technology Committee would direct the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) nuclear evaluation program. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and is cosponsored by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). The Advanced Artificial Intelligence Nuclear Evaluation Program […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy at its Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations facility in Goose Creek, S.C. July 27, with aims to underscore cooperation under the AUKUS security partnership. Under the tripartite AUKUS agreement, the U.S. government plans to sell three to five nuclear-powered attack submarines, or SSNs, […]

The White House on July 22 announced plans to invest $5 billion into its new Genesis Mission initiative to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for science-related efforts.  “America has no shortage of bold ideas or talented scientists, and the response to the Genesis Mission proves that,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the White House release, […]

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received a $156 million contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to provide mobile counter-unmanned aircraft systems for the Office of Secure Transportation’s Project Solar Shield. The sole-source, single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract will support the NNSA Office of Secure Transportation (OST), Kratos announced July 21. OST is responsible for […]

While the Department of Energy announced a nuclear agreement was reached and signed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump said on social media the agreement “will be approved” but hasn’t yet. DOE said July 22 that U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has delivered its fifth next-generation Global Burst Detector (GBD) sensor payload to the U.S. Space Force to monitor nuclear detonations above-ground globally. The payload will be integrated onto a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite before launch, where it will join an existing constellation of sensors that continuously monitor the […]

On its quarterly earnings call last week, Northrop Grumman reported favorable cost adjustments on the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program.  Sentinel remains on track for its first flight test in 2027, Kathy Warden, Northrop Grumman’s chair, president and CEO, said Tuesday July 21 on the company’s second quarter earnings call, highlighting a recent […]