Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The House Appropriations Committee is recommending a $324 million cut to the U.S. Air Force’s research and development request of $3.7 billion for the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile. “This decrease is the result of insufficient justification and program uncertainty for execution needs in fiscal year 2025,” according to the House Appropriations […]

The Department of Energy and its Nevada National Security Administration Wednesday announced the selection of a solar developer to pursue a carbon-free electric project at the Nevada National Security Site. Under the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have selected Estuary Power LLC & NV Energy as the […]

A top National Security Council official said Friday at an Arms Control Association conference  the United States will need to employ a more assertive nuclear strategy in light of the posture being taken by Russia and China. Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at […]

Editor’s note: this story is free to read as part of the ExchangeMonitor’s EXM Weekly newsletter. If you enjoyed reading, click here to sign up for EXM Weekly and get one free story from us every week. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Thursday awarded a contract for management and operation of  the Pantex Plant […]

A spokesperson from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico confirmed in an email Monday to the Exchange Monitor that an incident involving skin contamination due to a glovebox failure resulted in no significant health issues. During the week of May 10, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) wrote a staff report on […]

The House Rules Committee passed its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act 217-199 on Friday after a three-day debate among members on around 350 amendments. The bill includes provisions that restore the B-52 bomber’s nuclear capabilities, codifies the National Nuclear Security Administration as the lead in strategizing against smuggling nuclear materials, and requires […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Thursday awarded a contract for management and operation of  the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas to a joint venture called PanTeXas Deterrence LLC, led by Lynchburg, Va. based BWX Technologies. That is according to a notice on the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM.gov). The award […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration allocated $161.3 million to support nuclear and radiological security efforts in Ukraine, according to a Government Accountability Office report on supplemental U.S. funding for the battle-torn country. Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Congress has appropriated upwards of $174 billion under five Ukraine supplemental appropriations acts. The […]

Both the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the E3 group of nations expressed concerns over Iran’s uranium enrichment in their statements at the Board of Governors meeting. International Atomic Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized that Iran’s enrichment of 60% purity is close to the required purity of 90% for […]

Australia on Wednesday announced the start of a life extension program for the Collins-class submarine that curtails previously planned upgrades while it awaits U.S. and domestically-made nuclear-powered attack submarines in the next decades. Australia aims to ultimately replace its six Collins-class submarines with nuclear-powered SSN-AUKUS design vessels as a result of the trilateral AUKUS agreement […]

LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Department of Energy’s former chief information officer warns the federal government will become more demanding on cyber security requirements for contractors, and that it’s likely to be costly and time-consuming. “Agencies are updating policies,” Rocky Campione, vice president of cybersecurity and technology solutions for Boston Government Services, said here Wednesday. Campione […]

The U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman is exempt from a Title 10 requirement that a defense secretary seek a waiver for a low-rate initial production buy of more than 10 percent of total production for a Major Defense Acquisition Program, the Department of Defense said. The Department of the Air […]

The bipartisan-supported Radiation Exposure Compensation Act will expire today June 7 barring last minute reauthorization, and some lawmakers continue to voice their dissatisfaction with an extension that would not expand the number of nuclear workers who might qualify. “I am disappointed that Speaker [Mike] Johnson sent the House home without taking action on RECA before […]

Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Space Force Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with one re-entry vehicle, Tuesday morning. The test is part of a series of over 300 tests of the missile and is meant to to showcase the strength of the deterrent, according to a press release. […]

Given recent lack of progress on recent efforts at international arms control, President Joe Biden’s administration could soon announce a more aggressive nuclear weapons policy, the Semafor news service reported Friday. The National Security Council could soon announce a revised approach to arms control after the United States has failed to secure new talks with […]

The general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency recently identified the U.S. nuclear security regime as an international model at a presentation at the International Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration press release. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) hosted nine experts chosen by the International Atomic […]

LOUISVILLE, KY.—Once the National Nuclear Security Administration ramps up its plutonium pit production in the 2030s, the semi autonomous branch of the Department of Energy will be more closely linked with the waste disposal work of its sister DOE office for nuclear cleanup, Ahmad Al-Daouk said here Tuesday. “We are producing pits and we are […]

Jeff Chamberlin became the acting deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) after the head of the nonproliferation office became the acting principal deputy administrator. NNSA made Chamberlin the acting deputy administrator on May 16. He is the NNSA’s full-time assistant deputy administrator for material minimization and management and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs spoke at last week’s International Conference on Nuclear Security on securing radioactive sources, according to a joint press release. The joint statement between the two powers highlighted the need to prevent the use of radioactive […]

The U.S. should declare nuclear “revitalization” in and outside of the National Nuclear Security Administration a national priority, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday. The call by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was part of a 52-page proposal for “a generational investment in the U.S. military,” in which Wicker detailed plans […]

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization and the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration signed a memorandum of understanding that seeks to solidify the nuclear security and relationship between the two countries. The memorandum was signed during the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna last week, according to a […]

Idaho-based North Wind Group said Tuesday it appointed Paul Adams president of its North Wind Services company. Adams, who started his role as president on Tuesday, will lead business development and strategic initiatives, North Wind said in a Tuesday press release. Adams is a Marine Corps veteran with more than 25 years of commercial and […]

Louisiana-based Bernhard Capital Partners is adding another government contractor to its portfolio, announcing Tuesday it has purchased technology solutions provider Apogee Engineering for an undisclosed price. In a Tuesday press release, Bernhard said Apogee has a 20-year record of providing program management, cybersecurity and other technology needs to the U.S. government. “As the government seeks […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to address Government Accountability Office recommendations about recruiting and retaining new contract and federal workers by the end of the year, the agency told the office. In two reports released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) attempt to streamline the process it […]

The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday voted to keep legally binding  pit-production dates that the National Nuclear Security Administration does not believe it will meet. It was one of the few debates about nuclear weapons during Wednesday’s 12-hour markup of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which the committee passed by 57-1 at about […]

The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency released a factsheet on their Incident and Trafficking Database on Monday, citing 168 incidents in 2023 in 31 States. The IAEA Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) contains information on smuggling or otherwise illegal possession or sale of nuclear material, as well as the unauthorized disposal or discovery of […]

Early Wednesday, lawmakers approved an amendment to study use of a Nunn-McCurdy-type oversight process for the National Nuclear Security Administration. In an uncontroversial en bloc amendment package to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Rep. John Garamendi (R-Ca.) proposed that the Nunn-McCurdy Act requirement to keep Congress appraised of major spikes in project costs […]

On May 14, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory completed the first in the Nimble series of underground subcritical experiments at the Nevada National Security Site, according to a press release. The subcritical experiment was conducted at the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation, also known as the U1a Complex. In June 2023, a senior Livermore […]