Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, sitting on the frontlines of Russia’s war on Ukraine for nearly two years, is battling to retain power for cooling to its six reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.  The plant has lost external power, amidst ongoing combat, at leat eight times since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. […]

The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act contained few surprises for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, but final negotiations between the House and Senate this week did settle a few Capitol Hill disputes over more granular matters at the National Nuclear Security Administration. First, the final NDAA does not gate any travel funds […]

An Iranian-born ex-professor, fired from the University of Toledo in Ohio for allegedly allowing an Iranian citizen to access software owned by the National Nuclear Security Administration, sued the school for wrongful termination, alleging multiple counts of discrimination. Ishmael Parsai, a 69 year-old, nationalized U.S. citizen born in Iran, sued the university in November after […]

Jacobs’ government contracting and cybersecurity businesses, which are expected to merge with Virginia-based Amentum in 2024, account for more than a third of the revenue at Jacobs, according to material released following the Nov. 21 consolidation announcement. Depending on the way it’s counted, Critical Mission Solutions with the cyber and intelligence business line were responsible for between […]

Members of the House and Senate this week stripped a measure to extend compensation for victims of nuclear radiation exposure from a must-pass defense bill. The amendment to the Senate’s version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), would have extended the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) for 19 years and provided health care […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board should focus on providing the Department of Energy with independent safety advice and let its new incoming operations director deal with the board’s daily grind, a new federal report said. A recently-released Office of Inspector General report on management challenges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Defense Nuclear […]

Senator Tommy Tuberville’s about-face on holding up more than 400 military promotions for months because of Pentagon policies relating to reproductive care for servicemembers does not include nominees to four-star status, including the presumptive head of the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program.  The Senate on Tuesday confirmed more than 400 military officials after Tuberville, a Republican […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration welcomed a baker’s dozen of non-governmental experts on arms control and nonproliferation to its Nevada facilities, including parts of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) outside Las Vegas, the agency announced this week.  The Nevada site hosts a variety of nonproliferation projects, largely focused on the ability to detect low-yield […]

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) vowed to vote against the must-pass defense policy bill when it comes before the Senate unless it includes compensation for Missourians potentially exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons work dating back to the Manhattan Project. The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is now in conference between members of […]

A trilateral partnership to give Australia nuclear powered attack submarines is “an enduring commitment,” a “generational opportunity” and a major investment in the economy, a senior state department official said in prepared remarks Monday. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. is “is an opportunity for us not only to strengthen […]

The U.S. Air Force is prepared to put multiple nuclear warheads atop its new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles if called to do so, according to the officer in charge of fielding the new missile.  Brig. Gen. Colin Connor, the Air Force’s director of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) modernization, said on Wednesday that the new LGM-35 […]

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost its main power connection on Sunday, forcing it to rely on backup electricity for reactor cooling, the U.N.’s nuclear power agency said Sunday. There was no reported timeline for repairing the line. It is the latest in a string of power disruptions to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which […]

Henry Kissinger, a Cold War diplomat and presidential adviser called one of the more consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century, died Thursday at age 100, national media reported. Kissinger, who spoke with a European accent, became “an unlikely media star” during his time as secretary of state for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald […]

Substandard contractor performance delayed the launch of a new Uranium Processing Facility at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee until 2029, according to the agency’s latest annual progress report.  The start of operations at the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), a milestone known as CD-4, has now slid four years out […]

Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and several of his Republican colleagues are raising concerns over a “troubling report on the state of the counterintelligence enterprise” at the Department of Energy and of the subsequent reassignment of Director Steven Black, who led the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence for eleven years. In a Nov. 21 statement, the […]

One of the six reactors at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost power for about an hour and a half last week, causing an emergency diesel generator to kick in to provide electricity for cooling and other functions, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.  Plant personnel continue to investigate what caused the 90-minute power outage […]

The comment period for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment opens Dec. 19 and runs through Jan. 17.    The draft assessment analyzes the construction and operation of a new 115-kilovolt power transmission line and upgrades to the lab’s existing electrical infrastructure.  “Los Alamos requires a reliable and redundant […]

Centrus Energy on Monday announced that Chief Executive Daniel Poneman will step down from leadership of the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer at the first of the year.  He will be succeeded by Orano USA President and Chief Executive Amir Vexler on January 1.   Poneman joined Centrus in March 2015 and over eight […]

France successfully test-fired an M51.3 long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile, without a nuclear warhead aboard, over the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 18. The test firing was conducted by the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) from the Ballistic Launch Site (BLB) in Biscarrosse in southwest France. The flight comes just seven months after the successful acceptance test […]

Based on a survey taken mid-year, 72% of the staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have a “high level of respect” for senior leaders, which is the best score on this question in about four years at the independent federal watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites.  The figure reached 69% of […]

Amentum’s recently announced merger with Jacobs winnows the field of candidates vying to take over management of the Pantex Plant in Texas for the National Nuclear Security Administration.  After oral in-person interviews began last week, the consolidation of the two giant Department of Energy contractors shrinks the number of potential players for the $30 billion […]

In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will publish on Wednesday, Nov. 22. The next issue will be published on Friday, Dec. 1.

Naval nuclear reactor manufacturer BWX Technologies appointed Mike Boorstein as the new general manager for its Nuclear Operations Group-Euclid manufacturing facility. In this role, Boorstein will be responsible for BWX’s daily operations at the site, which employs more than 350 workers and manufactures electro-mechanical components for naval nuclear reactors used in submarines and aircraft carriers. […]

The Senate on Wednesday voted 90-8 in favor of formally beginning final negotiations with the House to produce a unified version of an annual defense policy bill. Conferees from the two bodies must now hammer out a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), both of which would set spending limits for the […]

There is no evidence that classified information was disclosed during an open, unclassified National Nuclear Security Administration at Department of Energy Headquarters’ Forrestal Building in September of last year, an agency watchdog report found. However, the suspected incident was not properly reported, according to a DOE Inspector General (IG) report published Nov. 2.  In September […]

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says he is concerned about Northrop Grumman’s ability to develop the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile on time and that the program to replace the current Minuteman III fleet is “struggling.” Northrop’s B-21 Raider strategic stealth bomber, however, is doing “fine,” he said in a Nov. 13 forum in […]

Russia’s recent de-ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty goes against the global tide of embracing the pact that seeks to formally outlaw nuclear explosive testing, the head of the treaty’s governing body said this week. There is significant international momentum in support of the treaty, which has nearly 200 signatories but has not yet […]