Latest news with #NNSA
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
US nuclear weapons agency breached in Microsoft SharePoint hack, Bloomberg News reports
U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration was among those breached by a hack of Microsoft's SharePoint document management software, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter. Bloomberg reported that no sensitive or classified information is known to have been compromised in the attack on the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency responsible for maintaining and designing the nation's cache of nuclear weapons. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Russia Today
05-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
US on track for biggest nuclear arms spending hike since Cold War
The White House has proposed a spending increase on nuclear bomb development unseen since the Cold War, the Los Alamos Study Group has claimed. The nuclear disarmament activist group based its conclusions on a technical supplement to the budget for the next fiscal year, as well as congressional testimonies by several senior officials released late last month. In a press release on Wednesday, the group estimated that President Donald Trump's administration is seeking $4.782 billion for the 'Weapons Activities' portion of the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA's) budget. The latter is the primary source of funds for the development, construction, and modernization of US nuclear warheads and bombs. According to the activists, an additional $1.884 billion was allocated to the NNSA in the fiscal year 2025 to cover the damages caused to its installations by two hurricanes. However, this sum, which apparently has yet to be expended, was not tallied in the budget details under consideration. The Los Alamos Study Group claimed that if this emergency funding is left out, the warhead budget proposed by the White House for 2026 would represent a 25% year-on-year increase – the largest hike since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. If the $1.884 billion in question is included, the year-on-year increase would stand at 17% – a level unseen since 1982. The proposed spending hike is expected to be put to a vote in Congress later this year. In mid-May, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced that NNSA had completed the manufacture of the first B61-13 gravity bomb, roughly a year ahead of schedule. It is the latest modification to the B61 family of nuclear bombs, which is the longest-serving among the key elements of the US nuclear triad's air component. It has been in production since 1968. The warhead is fitted with newer electronics and control features such as a tail kit, which effectively turns it into a guided munition. Its maximum yield is said to be approximately 360 kilotons – 24 times that of the bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima. If and when commissioned, the B61-13 will emerge as among the most powerful nuclear gravity bomb in the US arsenal. Several media outlets, citing unnamed officials, previously reported that its destructive force would make it the weapon of choice for targeting underground command and control facilities. Meanwhile, six more new modifications of the B61 bomb family are currently being developed.
New York Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Sharp Hike in Nuclear Arms Budget Sought as Science Funding Is Slashed
The White House is asking Congress for a major jump in the nation's budget for designing, making, maintaining and reconditioning its nuclear arms. According to a budget justification sent in recent days to Congress, the Trump administration wants the annual spending on the weapon activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration to increase from $19 billion this year to roughly $30 billion in the 2026 fiscal year, a rise of 58 percent. The document calls the hike 'a historic investment' in the nuclear enterprise. Currently, the complex of facilities employs 65,500 people at eight main sites from coast to coast. The justification document was sent to Congress by the Energy Department, which oversees the semiautonomous nuclear security agency. The White House request comes as the Trump administration seeks to slash budgets in many other agencies that specialize in scientific research, including NASA, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. Critics have accused the administration of cutting back research at the forefront of human knowledge, and the proposed nuclear investment seems likely to intensify those objections. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pantex completes first B61-13 nuclear bomb unit after B61-12 finale
Just four months after finalizing production on the B61-12, the Pantex Plant has completed the first production unit (FPU) of the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced this week. The milestone, achieved in partnership with PanTeXas Deterrence LLC, marks the latest advance in the United States' nuclear modernization efforts. "In this geopolitical environment, the Nuclear Security Enterprise performs work that saves the world every day,' said Jason Armstrong, manager of the NNSA's Pantex Field Office. 'Through meticulous planning, strong partnerships, and exceptional execution, Pantex and the rest of the enterprise continue to fulfill our mission of protecting America and its allies to help ensure global security.' The B61 nuclear bomb has been in service since 1968. Over the past decade, it underwent an extensive Life Extension Program (LEP) to replace aging components and extend its service life by at least 20 years. That effort culminated in the B61-12, the largest weapons modification ever executed by the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). Now, the B61-13 builds on that groundwork with updated features and streamlined production processes. 'The FPU is just the start,' said Kelly Beierschmitt, president and general manager of Pantex. 'With every unit comes progress and an enhanced ability for the NSE to deliver if or when the need arises. We do this work to protect our nation, our families, and our communities.' According to Pantex Program Manager Taylor Massey, the B61-13 was developed using a phased approach, allowing engineers to move quickly from design to testing and assembly by leveraging the established design of the B61-12. 'Modernization programs typically follow a detailed product realization process,' Massey said. 'We tailored our approach to accelerate readiness, developing procedures, tooling and testers that allowed us to produce an FPU within a year.' Six NNSA sites contributed to the development and production of the B61-13: Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Kansas City National Security Campus, Y-12 National Security Complex, Savannah River Site, and Pantex. The program reached full authorization in March and is scheduled to enter full-scale production this summer, with completion targeted for fiscal year 2027. 'There are over 200 parts involved in a single unit of the B61-13,' said Mickey Brown, B61 technical lead at Pantex. 'Almost all of those parts are produced by external partners within the NSE, then shipped to us for final assembly.' Massey added that the team's ability to meet aggressive timelines underscores Pantex's capacity for agility and performance. 'Following NNSA guidance to be more agile and flexible has shown we can meet designated production targets,' he said. 'That flexibility extends across everything from engineering and safety evaluations to the technicians on the floor meeting demanding schedules.' This achievement, Massey said, demonstrates that Pantex remains at the forefront of the nation's nuclear production efforts, driven by a skilled and collaborative workforce dedicated to national defense. This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Pantex finishes first B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb, begins new production phase
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Nuclear weapons leaders describe workforce woes after DOGE disruption
Hundreds of NNSA staff were fired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year, amid a $1.7 trillion nuclear weapons upgrade, in a chaotic wave of layoffs. Most were later rehired. Other critical staffers agreed to leave their jobs under DOGE's "fork in the road" resignation offer. More: Nuclear weapons woes: Understaffed nuke agency hit by DOGE and safety worries King said NNSA claims that staffing shortages hadn't placed agency's mission at short term risk "strikes me as implausible." The NNSA struggled with staffing and talent pipeline issues for decades before the new Trump administration, a recent USA TODAY investigation found. Then Musk launched efforts to reduce the federal workforce, which further destabilized the NNSA workforce, experts said. The agency currently faces a near-total hiring freeze and lost more than 130 of its 2,000 federal employees to the DOGE deferred resignation program. More than 300 more employees were fired and reinstated in February damaging morale. NNSA's acting principal deputy administrator, James McConnell, said told senators on a subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee the agency could handle the losses "in the short term," but he said the NNSA needs to "make sure that our resources are adequate." Experts told USA TODAY sustained staffing shortages could cause further delays and cost overruns on the agency's beleaguered portions of the nation's broader $1.7 trillion nuclear arsenal modernization effort. USA TODAY documented billions of dollars in overruns, as well as safety issues, at NNSA facilities that were attributed to staffing shortages. More: Musk aides got accounts on classified system with US nuclear secrets: sources Marv Adams, Hoagland's Senate-confirmed predecessor atop NNSA's defense programs, said in an interview that during his tenure, "our federal [warhead] program offices struggled to keep up and not get behind because of understaffing." The agency's field offices faced similar strain, according to David Bowman, a retired civil servant and former manager of the NNSA's Nevada Field Office. From 2020 until his retirement in the fall of 2024, Bowman oversaw operations at the expansive Nevada National Security Site. NNSA field offices must review and approve much of the work the agency's massive contractor workforce does on the nuclear arsenal, as well as safety management plans. In an interview, Bowman said such review "requires ... technical experts who are feds." More: Trump nukes nominee questioned on DOGE cuts, nuclear weapons testing "If the field offices or the safety experts are short staffed, the work is going to back up," he said. Bowman described finding qualified staff for his far-flung office northwest of Las Vegas as "the big challenge we had." Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY If you're a current or former NNSA employee willing to inform USA TODAY's coverage of the agency, please contact Davis Winkie via email at dwinkie@ or via the Signal encrypted messaging app at 770-539-3257. Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
