OMAHA, Neb. – Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said here Thursday Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is accelerating plutonium pit production, with the site targeting 100 pits by December 2028.
Speaking at the U.S. Strategic Deterrence Symposium, Williams said reforms across NNSA are producing results in major modernization efforts, including the production of plutonium pits, the nuclear weapon components that serve as the fissile center of modern warheads.
“These reforms are now being felt across our major undertakings, from warhead modernization programs to the production of strategic materials,” Williams said.
The Los Alamos’ pit production effort is moving “sooner and at significantly higher rates than previously believed possible,” Williams said, citing a focus on manufacturing 100 plutonium pits by December 2028.
The administrator credited the progress to transformation efforts outlined by NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Dave Beck, who sent a memo in February outlining “transformation objectives” for the labs, contractors and senior officials at the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. Williams said the changes represent “doing business differently” across the nuclear enterprise.
The comments come as NNSA works to establish a two-site plutonium pit production capability after decades without a sustained production mission. Under the strategy, Los Alamos will lead initial pit production efforts while the Savannah River Site expands its capacity to manufacture additional pits.
In accordance with federal law, NNSA must be able to produce 80 or more pits yearly to replenish the nuclear stockpile. The Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF) in South Carolina will eventually work in tandem with Los Alamos to produce plutonium pits for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. SRPPF is expected to complete construction by 2035.
Williams said Savannah River is supporting Los Alamos through workforce development and material handling efforts, describing the two locations as operating “in a single system” to deliver the capability.
The NNSA administrator did not provide additional details on current production rates, the number of pits completed to date, or which specific reforms have accelerated the schedule.
The U.S. has identified plutonium pit production as a critical component of its nuclear modernization effort.
Williams said the acceleration demonstrates a broader shift in how the agency approaches modernization, emphasizing urgency, production and improved execution across the nuclear weapons complex.