Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

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 […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced plans Thursday for two new supercomputers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Mission and Vision supercomputers will be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and powered by the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, NNSA said in a press release.  The Mission and Vision […]

After two days of debate, the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House floor mainly on party lines at 216-212. The defense policy bill, which also sets spending caps for the appropriations bills, would authorize $32.76 billion in funding for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The city of Oak Ridge, Tenn. is still looking for a replacement site for a municipal airport after the original location was tapped for nuclear industry expansion, City Manager Randy Hemann told Exchange Monitor Thursday. In an emailed statement with the Monitor, Hemann said the city is still engaged in considering alternate sites that “meet […]

A new opinion article published Tuesday on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website argued that concerns over plutonium contained in spent fuel from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant remain unresolved after attacks on the plant.  A Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists commentary discussed how to manage plutonium produced at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, […]