Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The Department of Energy expects its artificial intelligence-focused Genesis Mission to double productivity of the nation’s research and development (R&D) enterprise over the next decade, Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said during an Amazon Web Services event. “Ultimately, we seek to double the productivity and impact of America’s trillion-dollar-a-year R&D engine within a decade,” […]

Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are investigating a June 15 furnace fire inside a glovebox at the laboratory’s plutonium facility after operators observed smoke and flames during recovery and purification operations. The incident prompted an emergency response but caused no injuries, radiological release or damage beyond the affected equipment, according to […]

BWX Technologies (BWXT) completed its acquisition of Precision Components Group (PCG), finalizing a deal first announced in April that aims to expand the company’s U.S. heavy-manufacturing capacity for commercial nuclear components, according to a company press release Monday. PCG, which includes subsidiaries Precision Custom Components and DC Fabricators, manufactures heat-transfer components for the commercial sector, […]

The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) latest report of major defense acquisition programs found that while several nuclear modernization efforts continue to advance through development and testing, the Sentinel program remains burdened by significant cost, schedule and design challenges. In its annual review of weapon systems released last week, GAO said the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental […]

A coalition of watchdog organizations is pressing the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to release three documents it argues are essential to public review of the agency’s draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for expanded plutonium pit production. The South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) – which is representing Savannah River Site Watch, Tri-Valley CAREs […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed the certification, or “diamond stamping,” of all planned canned subassemblies for the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb this fiscal year, according to a Wednesday agency press release. NNSA also said in the release it certified the canned subassemblies, or the secondary stage of a two-stage thermonuclear weapon, at Y-12 […]

An analyst with the European Policy Centre (EPC) warned NATO’s evolving defense posture must preserve a credible conventional military presence in Europe, arguing that nuclear guarantees alone are insufficient to deter Russia. In an op-ed published this week, EPC policy analyst Juraj Majcin said the alliance’s shift toward greater European responsibility for conventional defense — […]

The United States nearly doubled its uranium production last year from its 2024 total as the country’s renewed interest in nuclear power continues to materialize. In the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Domestic Uranium Production Report, published June 23, the U.S. uranium mines produced 1.38 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) in 2025. This was […]

Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear proposed its initial public offering (IPO) Tuesday just weeks after the company filed its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in mid-June. The advanced nuclear fuel company Standard Nuclear said in a Tuesday press release it is launching its “roadshow” for its proposed IPO of 18.25 million shares […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state continues to prepare to ship transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico and could start sending drums there within a year, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) update. In a DNFSB resident inspector report for the week ended […]

Centrus Energy and the Department of Energy have signed the contract for the $900 million DOE award to bolster the domestic uranium enrichment production that was announced in January. American Centrifuge Operating, a Centrus company, was one of the three companies awarded $900 million by DOE, totaling $2.7 billion given out in task orders. Centrus […]

The House will leave for the Fourth of July recess without moving forward on its $1.15 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with a procedural vote to begin floor debate failing on Tuesday. The House voted 198-224 against the rule for considering the NDAA, the defense policy bill that sets spending limits […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel-led joint venture that runs the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said Friday that Todd Ailes will become its new president and CEO effective July 1. Ailes will succeed Rich Tighe who is leaving CNS after about four years to become project […]

The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]

The chairman’s mark of the House Appropriations Committee’s (HAC) fiscal 2027 defense appropriations bill funds the administration’s $1 billion request for the BBG(X) Trump-class battleship, but adds restrictions. The proposed restrictions would require a certification from the Navy Secretary on combat system maturity as well as reports seeking key details about ship development. During the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has launched a restricted data environment with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in what the agency says is the first “cloud” platform authorized across the enterprise to process classified nuclear weapons information. The cloud environment – a virtual space where resources are hosted by a third party and access over […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration finished a key project to shrink the area inside the fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. NNSA said Friday that the West End Protected Area Reduction (WEPAR) Project is expected to save $300 to $500 million through a reduction […]

As of Wednesday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last week. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & […]

The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

The fiscal 2027 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill text, which did not give a total number for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, was released Wednesday and waits to be debated on the House floor. The bill text and any amendments submitted are available online. While the bill was scheduled to be […]

The Department of Energy is targeting late July for resumption of transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. In a Wednesday email to Exchange Monitor, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said it intends to start disposing of waste again by the end of July. Although the schedule could […]

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) last week approved the Department of Energy’s request extending how long the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) can hold certain drums of transuranic waste in temporary storage areas pending underground disposal. Meanwhile, the comment period on a separate WIPP issue, where the state of New Mexico is seeking to […]

A Department of Energy-funded initiative involving Y-12 National Security Complex, Nevada National Security Site and Kansas City National Security Campus aims to create a new pathway for transferring niche technologies to smaller businesses that can support national security missions. The two-year project, known as Bolstering Underutilized Industry by Leveraging Technology Transfer, or BUILTT, is funded […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) inspectors at Los Alamos National Laboratory raised concerns about staffing levels at the lab’s field office, warning that federal oversight might not keep pace with the site’s growing workload. According to a recent resident inspector report, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos, N.M. Field Office is operating […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is seeking commercial partners for a patented fire mitigation technology designed to improve safety in advanced heat-pipe nuclear reactors, according to a recent technology licensing notice. Responses are due Dec. 19, 2026, according to the Department of Energy’s June 19 notice. The technology is intended to address one […]

The Department of Energy has approved a move to streamline U.S. civil nuclear exports to Thailand, easing regulatory requirements for American companies seeking to engage in nuclear energy projects in the country. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed a determination adding Thailand to the list of destinations eligible for “generally authorized” transfers of unclassified civil […]

The Virginia-class submarine USS Colorado (SSN-788) completed its scheduled maintenance period at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility on June 10, 29 days ahead of schedule.  The Navy said in a statement the early completion was due to a close partnership and clear communication between the shipyard and ship’s crew.  “Colorado’s success […]

The Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers broke ground May 28th at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., on a construction project for the future Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The project is a $26 million Commercial Entrance Control Facility (CECF) – the so-called “Gateway to Sentinel” – which, once built in […]