America’s newest nuclear warhead will cost under $100M to produce, budget docs show

America’s newest nuclear warhead will cost under $100M to produce, budget docs show
America’s newest nuclear warhead will cost under $100M to produce, budget docs show

The B61-13, announced in October, seeks to create a higher-yield nuclear bomb that can be used to penetrate hardened enemy locations.

US to introduce new nuclear gravity bomb design: B61-13

US to introduce new nuclear gravity bomb design: B61-13
US to introduce new nuclear gravity bomb design: B61-13

The new warhead variant is needed to provide “additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets,” according to the Pentagon.

DoD rejiggers $96 billion Sentinel ICBM program to minimize delay

DoD rejiggers $96 billion Sentinel ICBM program to minimize delay
DoD rejiggers $96 billion Sentinel ICBM program to minimize delay

As officials described how they’ll spend billions on America’s nuclear arsenal and presented rosy outlooks, California’s Rep. John Garamendi retorted, “The fact of the matter is every single one of these systems are behind schedule and over budget, every single one of them.”

Amid geopolitical instability, NNSA looks to industry for new arms control verification tech

Amid geopolitical instability, NNSA looks to industry for new arms control verification tech
Amid geopolitical instability, NNSA looks to industry for new arms control verification tech

For US nuclear stocks, Jill Hruby of the Department of Energy said, “this is the most demanding moment in the history of our nation’s nuclear enterprise since the Manhattan Project.”

Space Force launches experimental sats to detect nukes, test laser communications

Space Force launches experimental sats to detect nukes, test laser communications
Space Force launches experimental sats to detect nukes, test laser communications

Included among the STP-3 mission’s payloads is NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aimed at enabling higher speed communications across the vast region of space between the Earth and Mars.

Updated B61 nuclear warhead enters production

Updated B61 nuclear warhead enters production
Updated B61 nuclear warhead enters production

The new B61-12, with replaced or refurbished components, will be used by the F-15, F-16 and B-2, among others.

The US Navy’s Nuclear Proliferation Problem

The US Navy’s Nuclear Proliferation Problem
The US Navy’s Nuclear Proliferation Problem

US Navy reactors currently use about 100 nuclear bombs’ worth of HEU each year, more than all of the world’s other reactors combined.

NNSA Produces First Upgraded Warhead For Sub-Launched Nukes

NNSA Produces First Upgraded Warhead For Sub-Launched Nukes
NNSA Produces First Upgraded Warhead For Sub-Launched Nukes

The improved W88 Alt 370 warhead comes a year late and millions over budget.

Senate, House Set To Rumble Over Who Controls Nuke Budget

Senate, House Set To Rumble Over Who Controls Nuke Budget
Senate, House Set To Rumble Over Who Controls Nuke Budget

The provision seeks to prevent the Nuclear Weapons Council “from further encroaching on the development of the NNSA budget,” Kingston Reif, director of arms control and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association, told Breaking D.

Sen. Hoeven: Fully Fund GBSD & Nuke Warhead Modernization

Sen. Hoeven: Fully Fund GBSD & Nuke Warhead Modernization
Sen. Hoeven: Fully Fund GBSD & Nuke Warhead Modernization

You don’t see lots of op-eds from members of the House or Senate appropriations committees. Why? The so-called cardinals — whose influence has slipped with the demise of regular budget order in the two chambers — remain among the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill because they have a greater say than most of their…

How To Fix Our Broken Nuclear Weapons Enterprise; DoD Must Take Over

How To Fix Our Broken Nuclear Weapons Enterprise; DoD Must Take Over
How To Fix Our Broken Nuclear Weapons Enterprise; DoD Must Take Over

Why is America’s nuclear weapons enterprise — the vast array of national laboratories and other facilities that make, build and maintain our nuclear warheads — so problem-ridden? Is it because the big weapons laboratories (Los Alamos, Livermore, and Sandia) have too much autonomy, or because they have too little? Is it because the Department of…

Improve Nuclear Weapons, Missiles, Bombers To Deter Putin’s Russia

Improve Nuclear Weapons, Missiles, Bombers To Deter Putin’s Russia
Improve Nuclear Weapons, Missiles, Bombers To Deter Putin’s Russia

  If President Obama ever had a rationale for moving away from his personal belief in nuclear disarmament, Vladimir Putin has provided one in Crimea. Russia’s annexation is a game-changer that will likely change the strategic dynamic in Europe in ways that neither Putin nor Obama fully understands. If deterrence equals capability plus will, then…

Was North Carolina One Switch Away From Nuclear Oblivion?

Was North Carolina One Switch Away From Nuclear Oblivion?
Was North Carolina One Switch Away From Nuclear Oblivion?

WASHINGTON: Nuclear weapon accidents should worry everyone until they are contained and proven harmless. At the same time, we have to be rational about the risks. The latest example of how well those risks have been balanced comes from the Guardian, a very fine paper that I used to write for when I lived in…

Our Nukes Cost More Than You Think; Stimson Pegs Annual Nuke Spending At $31B

The defense budget is going down…have you heard? The presidential campaign is shedding a lot of heat, but very little light on this reality; you won’t hear much of substance about how or where it will go down. Or much sensible or reasonable discussion about how we manage a defense build-down in a way that…