:

Nuclear Modernization

NNSA Estimates W87-1 Will Cost Almost $15B, GAO Questions Ready Date

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020

SHARE:

NNSA Estimates W87-1 Will Cost Almost $15B, GAO Questions Ready Date

The Air Force test launches a Minuteman III ICBM. Photo: Air Force.

According to a recently declassified report, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) thinks it will cost some $14.8 billion to build W87-1 warheads for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) missiles planned to replace Minuteman III as the land-based leg of the nuclear triad starting around 2030. That could make W87-1 — a newly manufactured copy of the existing W87 design, but with a brand new plutonium-pit trigger — “the most expensive program of this type to date,” the Government…

Congress

House Appropriators ‘Concerned’ With JLTV A2 Delays, Shift Funds For Marines’ Second Supplier Effort

House appropriators have said they’re “seriously concerned” with Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 delays, as their fiscal year 2027 defense spending bill shifts funds to support the Marine Corps’ […]

Budget

House Appropriators Uncertain Navy Will Award F/A-XX Contract By August

House appropriators said they are skeptical the Defense Department will award the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract for the Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter program by the most recent […]

Congress

House Appropriators Approve $1.07 Trillion FY ‘27 Defense Bill Amid Reconciliation Uncertainty

The House Appropriations Committee has approved its $1.07 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense spending bill, advancing a bill with a historic topline while uncertainty lingers over Congress’ next step to […]

Budget

House Appropriators Add Restrictions And Reporting Requirement To Battleship, Reject Cut

The chairman’s mark of the House Appropriations Committee’s (HAC) fiscal year 2027 defense appropriations bill funds the administration’s $1 billion request for the BBG(X) Trump-class battleship, but adds restrictions requiring […]