Wrap-up: IAEA to visit Iran in coming weeks; second B-21; DoD acquisition chief supports HASC’s reform proposal; more

Iran agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Tehran in the coming weeks to discuss relations between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran’s deputy foreign minister told reporters last week.

The IAEA told Reuters that IAEA director general Rafael Grossi was “actively engaging with all parties involved in the Iran nuclear issue.”

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with publication Financial Times that because Tehran had been preparing to activate a site near the Isfahan facility when it was hit by U.S. strikes in June, the country has the resources to restart uranium enrichment despite the damage to its facilities. He also said he does not know the location of Iran’s uranium stockpile.

A second B-21 bomber, designed to have dual capability for carrying conventional and nuclear weapons, will “fly shortly” due to production increases, head of the Air Force Global Strike Command Gen. Thomas Bussiere told Air & Space Forces Magazine last week.

Bussiere, who was recently nominated by the president to be Vice Chief of Staff said he is “pleased with the progress” of the production and test effort.

Northrop Grumman, which is developing the B-21 Raider next-generation stealth bomber, said in its earnings last week that further investment would be required if the Pentagon decides to increase production of the bomber. 

The Pentagon’s new acquisition chief last week offered his support for the House Armed Services Committee’s wide-ranging proposal for defense acquisition reform, while the panel pressed for DoD to improve its communication with lawmakers as it pursues the initiative.

“We cannot get meetings. We cannot have these consistent conversations. And that’s going to be a problem in getting to the acquisition reform that we need. So I hope that improves,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the HASC ranking member, said during the hearing. “The basic communication has to happen and it is not happening at an unprecedented level.”

Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, cited HASC’s wide-ranging Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act as a “unique opportunity to drive meaningful change within the department,” with the hearing covering pursuit of “right to repair” authority and more co-production opportunities with international partners. “What once took a decade must now be delivered in months or weeks to stay ahead of the threat. The urgency is reflected in the SPEED Act’s central objective, shortening the requirements to delivery timeline and accelerating production at scale,” Duffey said.

Chief Nuclear Officer Tim Rausch has announced his resignation from Tennessee Valley Authority, effective by March 1, 2026, according to a July 14 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. 

In his role as chief nuclear officer, Rausch is overseeing seven TVA nuclear reactors at: Browns Ferry in Alabama, Sequoyah in Tennessee, and Watts Bar in Tennessee. Rausch also serves as TVA’s executive vice president.

Rausch joined TVA in 2018 after serving as vice president and chief nuclear officer at the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2017. 

The new head of the Donald Trump administration’s Golden Dome initiative recently outlined his near-term goals, noting space-based interceptors will be the hardest technical challenge, and clarified the architecture and threat have not yet been decided on.

“Our near term focus is going to be on integration of command and control of the various assets that have been built across all those stovepipes…that includes the sensors, that includes the shooters, as well as the [communication pipes]. How do we bring all of that to bear simultaneously in protection of the homeland while utilizing the capabilities that are already there and not trying to recreate them,” Space Force Gen. Mike Guetlein said during the July 22 Space Foundation’s Innovate Space Global Economic Summit.

In May, Trump announced Golden Dome would cost a total of $175 billion, be fully operational within three years, include space-based interceptors, and announced Guetlein would lead the program. Trump’s May announcement claimed the program will “truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland. And the success rate is very close to 100 percent which is incredible, when you think of it, you’re shooting bullets out of the air.”