Nuclear Weapons
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Nuclear ModernizationNuke Agency’s Contractor Scorecards for Pandemic Fiscal Year Show Headaches for Warhead Cores, Non-nuclear Components, Test Instruments
Despite headaches that touch, in one way or another, almost every major nuclear weapons refurbishment underway at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency’s big contractors generally got good reviews […]
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Nuclear ModernizationNavy Weighing Need for New Core in its Next Nuclear Warhead
With the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) capacity to manufacture new nuclear weapon cores still a question mark, the Navy is studying whether the recently funded W93 submarine-launched ballistic missile […]
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Nuclear ModernizationActing NNSA Chief Bookless Leaving on Inauguration Day
William Bookless will resign as acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on inauguration day, Jan. 20, setting up career civil servant David Huizenga to shepherd the nuclear-weapons […]
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Nuclear ModernizationSTRATCOM Commander Met With Biden Transition Team; Worries About Weapons Complex
The commander of U.S. nuclear forces, who met with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) transition team recently, worried Monday that the civilian nuclear weapons complex faces problems bigger than a potential […]
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Nuclear ModernizationNew Underground Subcritical Nuke Tests Underway; Second Shot Set for Spring ’21
The Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Nevada National Security Site are resetting the underground U1a facility at the former Nevada Test Site for the second in three planned Nightshade […]
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Nuclear ModernizationNuke Lab Brings in Ex-Raytheon Exec as Deputy Director
The Sandia National Laboratories split its Nuclear Deterrence division into two new organizations and brought in a former Raytheon [RTN] executive to oversee them, the Albuquerque, N.M.-based labs network said […]
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Budget
Senate Rolls House Again in Civilian Nuke Negotiations; DoE Weapons Budget at $19.7B in Omnibus
Civilian nuclear weapons programs at the Department of Energy will get almost all of the $3 billion raise the White House requested for fiscal year 2021, under the omnibus spending […]
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Nuclear ModernizationPentagon Appoints Ex-NNSA Administrator Gordon-Hagerty to Advisory Board
The Pentagon appointed Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, until recently the administrator of the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), to the Defense Policy Board Wednesday, potentially giving DoE’s former nuclear-weapons […]
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Nuclear ModernizationLittle Chance of Deviating From Obama, Trump Nuclear Posture Reviews, HASC Chair Says
Even in a government where Democrats will control the White House and at least one chamber of Congress, political consensus appears to favor continuing the nuclear modernization program the Obama […]
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Congress
Compromise NDAA Also a Compromise on DoE, Pentagon Control Over Civilian Nuke Budget
A version of the fiery interagency and inter-branch tug of war that produced this year’s controversial civilian nuclear weapons budget would be essentially legalized, if a compromise 2021 defense authorization […]