Mike NartkerFirst Phase of Breeder Rod Shipments from Dounreay to Sellafield Done
Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
6/5/2015
Scotland’s Dounreay site recently completed the last shipment of an 11-ton batch of breeder reactor rods to the Sellafield site for storage…
The Pentagon said Monday it picked the USS Colorado (SSN-788) to be the first U.S. Navy Virginia-class attack submarine assigned to Submarine Rotation Force West (SRF-West), marking the next step in the AUKUS submarine process, starting in late 2027.
SRF-West aims to help Australia prepare to ultimately operate, maintain and support its own nuclear-powered and conventionally-armed SSNs. Australia will start by hosting a rotational presence of up to four U.S. SSNs and one United Kingdom Astute-class attack submarine located at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. This will expand the maintenance and sustainment infrastructure for AUKUS partners in the region.
“The selection of USS Colorado (SSN 788) as the first submarine assigned to SRF-West in 2027 marks a significant milestone for AUKUS Pillar I and is a decisive step in strengthening collective deterrence in the Pacific,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Australian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Rochard Marles and U.K. Secretary of State for Defense West Streeting, said in a joint statement.
The deployment of the Colorado is the next early step under AUKUS Pillar I, leading into the U.S. selling three to five Virginia-class attack submarines to Australia in the 2030s. Later, Australia plans to ultimately build its own SSN-AUKUS boats in the 2040s while sharing a design with the U.K. Royal Navy.
This comes after the AUKUS defense ministers said in May that Australia’s 2030s submarine purchases would exclusively consist of used submarines rather than the previously planned mix of new and used boats.
The government officials said this comes ahead of an upcoming third U.S. submarine maintenance period later this week, when a U.S. Virginia-class submarine will perform maintenance at Stirling to further demonstrate the host country;s growing ability to sustain allied submarines.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized the rule to create a more uniform regulatory pathway for commercializing Department of Energy and Pentagon-approved reactor designs.
Originally proposed in April, the final rule is designed to allow NRC to leverage…
Rockville, Md.-based X-energy, American Electric Power (AEP) and Amazon have signed a joint agreement to develop a 960-megawatt small modular reactor (SMR) project in Indiana.
Using X-energy’s Xe-100 SMR, X-energy and AEP will pursue feasibility studies for…
The Nuclear Company, a startup project developer, is eyeing Lewis County, Ky. as its site for a planned 6,600-megawatt power plant that would use six of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors.
The Prosperity One Nuclear Campus would have up to six AP1000 reactors,…
The United States Navy selected El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant Nuclear’s microreactor technology to power Naval Weapons Station in Crane, Ind., the company said Tuesday.
The Navy previously announced in September that Naval Weapons Station in Crane would be the service’s first naval microreactor installation. Radiant will work with the Navy, Army, Defense Innovation Unit, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others on the project, according to the company’s press release.
Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor will go through an environmental review, site development and fine-tuning of its design prior to the deployment.
“We are honored to be selected by the U.S. Navy for this important work, and we thank the Navy and the Army’s Dr. Waksman for their confidence in Radiant to deliver reliable, resilient nuclear power wherever their mission demands,” Tori Shivanandan, Radiant president and chief operating officer, said.“Our mission of Atoms for Prosperity is today strengthened by the support of the Navy and the State of Indiana.”
Radiant is designing the Kaleidos to be a one-megawatt, TRISO-fueled, gas-cooled transportable reactor. The company plans to factory-build the microreactor instead of traditionally constructing it to avoid long lead times, the company said.
With its recent selection, Radiant is now set to work with the Army, Air Force and Navy for various microreactor deployments across several military installations. Under the Army’s Janus program, the company was awarded $750 million to deploy up to 15 of its Kaleidos microreactors.
The Navy said Radiant’s selection for Naval Weapons Station Crane is not new or an addition within the Janus program and is accounted for by the Army expecting to “build more than 20 total nuclear microreactors on military installations” under it, according to the Navy’s press release.
The United States Navy selected El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiant Nuclear’s microreactor technology to power Naval Weapons Station in Crane, Ind., the company said Tuesday.
The Navy previously announced in September that Naval Weapons Station in Crane would…
AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy wants to see eight large-scale nuclear reactors operating in South Carolina by 2036, and an advanced small modular reactor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in the foreseeable future, Tim Walsh, DOE’s Assistant Secretary…
Wayne Barber
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending Congress consider clarifying the roles of the Department of Energy and its regulators when remediated lands from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites are transferred to local communities.
In a report…
AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy wants to see eight large-scale nuclear reactors operating in South Carolina by 2036, and an advanced small modular reactor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in the foreseeable future, Tim Walsh, DOE’s Assistant Secretary…
The Army has begun site planning for three nuclear microreactors at Fort Benning, Ga., as an early step toward deploying the systems under its Janus energy resilience program.
Fort Benning hosted an initial Janus Program site visit Oct. 16 with Army planners,…
The Army has begun site planning for three nuclear microreactors at Fort Benning, Ga., as an early step toward deploying the systems under its Janus energy resilience program.
Fort Benning hosted an initial Janus Program site visit Oct. 16 with Army planners,…
Years after the Department of Energy cancelled the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, a company based in France is making ambitious plans for MOX at the nuclear complex.
The original multi-billion-dollar…
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending Congress consider clarifying the roles of the Department of Energy and its regulators when remediated lands from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites are transferred to local communities.
In a report…
Sarah SalemWASHINGTON, D.C. – The Army’s Janus nuclear power program could support the military’s broader energy resilience goals under the Donald Trump administration’s “Fortress America” initiative, though officials said the effort will encompass multiple energy…
The Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) will hold its annual conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 12-14 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
The event arrives as the Army is currently without Senate-confirmed top leadership, with both Acting Army…
Wayne Barber
Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a Department of Energy employee at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., was to appear in federal court Thursday in connection with Justice Department allegations that he aided a foreign terror group, according to news first reported in the Tri-City Herald.
Ellaboudy is in the Benton County jail after being arrested on Thursday Oct. 1, according to the Oct. 5 newspaper article. He was originally scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday but that was pushed back until Thursday to provide time for the defendant to find legal representation.
Ellaboudy has too much income to qualify for a court-appointed lawyer, according to the article, citing a finding last week by a federal magistrate.
A search in LinkedIn found an Ashton Ellaboudy in the Kennewick, Wash., area, listed as employed by DOE in the nuclear safety division at Hanford since April 2023.
“The Hanford Field Office appreciates the leadership and diligence of the investigation conducted by the FBI,” said DOE’s Hanford Field Office Manager Ray Geimer in an Oct. 1 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Eastern Washington state.
“This matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce, and at no time was there a threat to the safety or security of the site,” Geimer added in the release. “We remain committed to providing a safe and secure workplace as we move the Hanford mission forward.”
A DOE spokesperson at Hanford directed any further request for comment on the individual and his employment at the department to DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Other than saying Ellaboudy was a federal DOE worker at Hanford, a DOE spokesperson at headquarters directed any further press inquiries to the Justice Department.
Ellaboudy, age 51, could face 20 years in prison if convicted of aiding the Houthis, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“As alleged, a U.S. government employee traveled overseas and used his specialized expertise in an attempt to aid the Houthis, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg, in the press release. “Additionally, Ellaboudy acquired materials for the construction of explosive material and drones capable of delivering these explosives. These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination.”
According to the federal press release, Ellaboudy got the FBI’s attention when he started buying “precursee” chemicals and materials that can be used in homemade explosives. He also started ordering parts that could be used to build drones.
During the course of the investigation, Ellaboudy “began communicating with an FBI confidential human source” who claimed to be in touch with a Houthi “colonel,” according to the federal press release. Ellaboudy sought to use his expertise to help the Houthis set up solar power and communications equipment.
Citing Justice Department documents, the newspaper said Ellaboudy is a naturalized U.S. citizen with family ties to Egypt. The newspaper reported Ellaboudy traveled to Yeman in September 2025 without authorization. Yeman’s capital is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, which the U.S. government has dubbed a terrorist organization.
According to the Herald article, upon returning to the United States, Ellaboudy told officers at Los Angeles International Airport he was traveling for DOE to inspect missile sites. Citing court papers, the newspaper said his DOE boss said his federal job did not involve foreign travel.
The FBI’s Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case. The prosecution is being handled by the Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Cartier-Giroux for the Eastern District of Washington and trial attorneys Patrick Cashman and Ryan White of the Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
