Reporter: nuclear weapons
Defense Daily
Ph: 571-527-1406
Dan Leone
Articles By Dan
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Nuclear Modernization‘Challenging’ to get 30 Pits a Year at Los Alamos in 2026, Director Says
The proof-of-concept plutonium pit for the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile warhead is still on the slate for fiscal year 2023, but cranking out 30 copies annually just three years after […]
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Nuclear ModernizationBiden Nuclear Review Will be Bundled With National Defense Strategy Next Year; Force-Structure ‘Signal’ This Year DoD Official Says
The Biden administration’s nuclear posture review will be bundled with a larger national defense strategy to be released in early 2022, but the administration plans to make a “significant signal” […]
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Nuclear ModernizationCOVID Could Spell Delay for Nuke Refurb but ‘A Lot of Margin’ Remains
WASHINGTON — COVID-19-related delays at the Department of Energy and its vendors might delay refurbishment of a warhead intended for next-generation nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missiles, the acting head of the […]
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Nuclear ModernizationYears-Long W80 Alt Wraps On Time After Pandemic, Pantex Says
The Pantex Plant wrapped up production of the W80-1 Alt 369, which replaced limited life components for the warhead that tips the Air Force’s AGM-86b Air Launched Cruise Missile, the […]
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CongressRanking Strategic Forces Republican Roasts Acting SecNav Over Cancelling SLCM-N
By suggesting that the Navy cancel a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, the service’s acting secretary imperiled arms control negotiations and undercut President Joe Biden, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said during […]
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Nuclear ModernizationGBSD Armored Against Treaty, Posture Changes, AF Officers Say
The Air Force’s top nuclear procurement officer on Monday positioned the service’s effort to build its next nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile as a way to shore up the nuclear-industrial base […]
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Nuclear ModernizationDoE Nuclear Agency Can’t Fully Meet Production Deadline for Warhead Cores, Agency Official Tells Lawmakers
The National Nuclear Security Administration cannot meet a legal requirement to make at least 80 new plutonium cores for intercontinental ballistic missile warheads in 2030, the agency’s acting boss told […]
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Nuclear Modernization
Spending Deferrals on Civilian Nuclear Weapons Programs Headed Home to Roost, GAO Says
“The bow wave has arrived” for the civilian nuclear-weapons budget, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned Wednesday in a report that, amid recommendations for streamlining budget and project organization, made […]
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Nuclear ModernizationNavy Should Scrap SLCM, Acting Secretary Says
The Navy should scrap plans to develop a nuclear-tipped sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM), the service’s acting secretary wrote in a memo dated June 4. Media this week widely reported on […]
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Nuclear ModernizationUSAF General Not Concerned About Delays to New ICBM Warhead Core, Despite SNAFU With Construction of Civilian Manufacturing Plant
The head of Air Force Global Strike Command is not concerned that the next-generation warhead for the next-generation nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile will be delayed because of a projected delay […]