After a joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility early Friday March 20, Iran retaliated with a strike on a town near Israel’s secret nuclear facility, Negev, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency and major news outlets.
Afterward, an international nuclear monitor said it has not identified any increase in offsite radiation following the exchange. Iranian state media said the attack on Negev was a “response” to the attack on Natanz, Iran’s underground uranium enrichment complex. There was also a projectile attack last week on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant. Iran’s missile attack hit Dimona, the main town by Negev and Arad.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X over the weekend that there was no increase in offsite radiation levels after both attacks, and urged “maximum military restraint” around nuclear facilities. The IAEA also said on X it is investigating the Natanz nuclear facility. The IAEA, notably, has never been allowed near the Negev nuclear facility in Israel, even though Israel is a member of the IAEA.
The Department of Energy will relocate its Washington, D.C. headquarters from the James V. Forrestal Building to the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) building, which currently houses the Department of Education.
That is according to a Thursday announcement from DOE and the General Services Administration. The Education Department, which has undergone significant cuts under the Donald Trump administration, will be moving to small quarters, the Associated Press reported.
Relocation of DOE should save taxpayers $350 million, according to the Thursday release. All DOE Forrestal staff will be reassigned to LBJ, DOE Germantown Campus, Portals, or 950 L’Enfant. The release did not list a projected date for the relocation. In a memo to DOE staff, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said a “town hall” will soon be scheduled to discuss the issues with staff.
The director of the Golden Dome program last week named Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northrop Grumman the three prime contractors working on the Golden Dome command and control (C2) “glue layer” and revealed the program’s expected total cost rose by another $10 billion to accelerate space sensor programs.
The total cost of the program is now projjected at $185 billion to advance several space sensor programs. Space Force Gen. Mike Guetlein, Direct Reporting Program Manager for Golden Dome, said at the annual McAleese Defense Programs Conference the extra $10 billion covers work they have been tasked with doing to advance the schedule of the Space Force’s space-based Airborne Moving Target Indicators, the Space Force’s Space Data Network and the MDA-Space Force Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor.
The Golden Dome is part of an executive order by President Donald Trump last January. The order stated the Dome is intended to defend against hypersonic, cruise and nuclear-armed ballistic missile threats and a “countervalue attack by nuclear adversaries.” Guetlein reiterated the “objective architecture” for Golden Dome is aimed at 2035, with 2028 the goal to field initial capabilities.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said Tuesday it selected Christie Miller and Christian Ortego as two new vice presidents at its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.
Starting April 1, Miller will be vice president of communications, and Ortego will be vice president and NNS chief counsel, the company release said. Miller will succeed Jennifer Dunn, who is retiring at the end of March after 29 years at NNS. Ortego will succeed Jon Arena, who is leaving HII to go elsewhere.
Newport News Shipbuilding designs and builds the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft and nuclear-powered submarines, including the Columbia- and Virginia-class subs.
Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) will be the newest member of the Senate Armed Services committee following the confirmation of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to head the Department of Homeland Security, Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in a statement Thursday.
“Senator Moody brings a wealth of experience to this body’s critical work, and her addition comes at a consequential moment for our national defense,” Wicker said in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside her as we address a pivotal year for military budgeting, modernization, and industrial base expansion.”
“It is an honor and a privilege to join the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services,” Moody said in her own statement. “Florida has a deep and respected military culture, and as a member of a military family, every issue that comes before the Armed Services Committee is a personal one to me.”