Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Tennessee environmentalists and anti-nukers literally prayed for NRC to prevent a planned license amendment that would let BWX Technologies subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services purify uranium for the National Nuclear Security Administration.  “Dear Chairman Hanson,” reads a postcard sent by multiple activists to NRC Chair Christopher Hanson. “As a fellow person of faith, I believe in […]

The U.S. State Department released aggregate numbers of strategic offensive nuclear weapons on Monday, its obligation under the New START treaty, despite Russia’s refusal to participate further in the bilateral deal.  “As a lawful countermeasure in response to the Russian Federation’s violation of its New START Treaty obligations, the United States did not provide its […]

NAC International’s contract to transport irradiated rods containing tritium from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina was renewed without competition in September, even though the National Nuclear Security Administration identified four companies that the agency believes could do the work.  The new five-year follow-on contract is being awarded on […]

The wife of a former Navy civil engineer who attempted to sell nuclear-submarine secrets to a foreign nation is contesting the 22-year sentence she got for her part in the attempted espionage.  Diana Toebbe was convicted of conspiracy to communicate restricted data for being an accomplice to her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, who over several months […]

The Pentagon is accelerating test equipment purchases for initial operational testing and evaluation of the LGM-35A Sentinel to reduce risk and prevent further delays in development of the Northrop Grumman-built intercontinental ballistic missile. Pentagon acquisition chief William LaPlante signed an Acquisition Decision Memo (ADM) regarding the Sentinel program on March 27, the Defense Department said […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to have BWX Technologies process nearly twice as much high-assay low-enriched uranium as recently planned after more than a metric ton of the material was found at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.  A notice of intent filed May 3 on the government’s contracting website outlines NNSA plans […]

The House Armed Services Committee postponed its markup of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act with no rain-check date given, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday.  Without giving a reason for the delay, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) just five days after announcing the markup schedule for the various subcommittees, said the entire process would be pushed […]

Earnings rose for Centrus Energy in the first quarter of 2023, during which the uranium broker and enrichment-technology developer finished building its 16-machine high-assay low-enriched uranium enrichment cascade. The company reported $7.2 million in net income, or $0.49 a share, in the first quarter on $66.9 million in revenue, compared with a net loss of […]

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the first quarter, and the company sees fair winds ahead, driven by U.S. Navy and allied nuclear ship propulsion requirements.  Net earnings for the first quarter ended March 31 were $61 million or $0.67 per share up from $59.1 million, or $0.64 a share, in the year-ago […]

Employees suing Consolidated Nuclear Security over allegedly withheld wages got new lawyers this week and want more time to answer the company’s motion to dismiss their case, court documents show. The plaintiffs want an extension to the May 9 deadline the court set to proceed with the case or have it thrown out. Consolidated Nuclear […]

At least five glove-box breaches occurred at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in late March through mid-April, though none of the incidents resulted in worker skin contamination or otherwise compromised their health, according to two reports from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.  Two of the breaches at the lab’s PF-4 Plutonium Facility occurred in […]

Development of several non-nuclear components is holding up fielding of the warhead that will eventually ride on the Air Force’s new air-launched cruise missile, according to Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.  Speaking with the Exchange Monitor following testimony before Senate lawmakers this week, Hruby said “we have a full list in […]

Earnings fell at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the first quarter, which the government contractor attributed to charges on a defense contract and losses associated with the sale of an international subsidiary. But in an analysts conference call following the morning earnings release, Fluor CEO David Constable was upbeat about prospects for the company’s work in […]

Slips in the planned schedule for some parts of the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM will occur, but the Air Force is focused on ensuring that the Sentinel is ready on time, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said May 4. In September, 2020, the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a potential $13.3 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration, in cooperation with U.S. partner nations, plans to establish an integrated global system to detect smuggled nuclear material before it can be used in acts of terrorism.  The NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) announced deployment of a Counter Nuclear Smuggling System on the federal government’s contracting […]

The flood of employees leaving National Nuclear Security Administration sites that peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic has ebbed and the workforce needed to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons complex is short-staffed but holding, the head of the agency said Wednesday.  “The overall attrition is close to normal now at both Los Alamos and Sandia and […]

WASHINGTON — The secretary of energy must approve the National Nuclear Security Administration’s plan to let one company manage the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, for up to 20 years, the head of the nuclear-weapons agency said here Wednesday. Details of the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract were published on April 28. The draft solicitation included a five-year […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration did not audit more than $10 million paid to one of four companies manufacturing Molybdenum-99 for use in medical procedures, the Department of Energy Inspector General said last week.  In an effort to spur domestic production of Molybdenum-99 the NNSA awarded four 50-50 cost-share, cooperative agreements in 2019 for $30 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s latest Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, released Monday, fuzzed up delivery dates for distant, future nuclear weapons that, as recently as a year ago, had at least placeholder dates. Specially, three weapons, ground-, sea- and air-based warheads, now have “To Be Determined” first-production-unit delivery dates instead of the mid- to […]

Problems with components are mostly responsible for the two-year delay to the warhead for the next nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missile, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration told lawmakers Wednesday. There are “few components that are pacing the schedule” for the W80-4, Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told the […]

The director of government affairs and community engagement at the National Nuclear Security Administration left the agency this month for a career in industry, according to his LinkedIn profile. Harris Walker now lists himself as director of government affairs and a “lithium policy change agent” for Livent Corp., Philadelphia. That ended a Department of Energy […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday released its draft solicitation for bids on a potentially 20-year standalone contract to manage the Pantex Plant nuclear-weapons service hub in Amarillo, Texas. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will have at least a five-year base with one five-year option period and perhaps as many as two more five-year options after […]

The White House’s proposal to decrease the Naval Reactors budget within the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) by 5.6% to about $1.96 billion “may be something we need to talk about,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told agency Administrator Jill Hruby this week in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Kaine, an advocate for […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday kicked off a big environmental review of the agency’s plan for expanding the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. over the next 15 years. Among the activities the nuclear-weapons agency plans to review are: Upgrading the lab’s capability to test nuclear weapons and components in radiation-rich environments by […]

Earnings rose for Honeywell in the 1st quarter of 2023, which the aerospace and defense contractor, leading trans at five Department of Energy nuclear sites attributed mostly to a growth in commercial aviation. The company generated $1.4 billion in net income in the first quarter, about $300 million better than the first quarter of 2022, […]

NATO and the U.S. State Department this week held the 18th Annual NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman delivered remarks at the opening session of the conference on April 18. “NATO will […]