Latest news with #NNSA
New York Times
18 hours ago
- 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.
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Top nuke officials admit staffing challenges after DOGE layoffs, hiring freeze
Top nuke officials admit staffing challenges after DOGE layoffs, hiring freeze Testifying to a Senate committee, National Nuclear Security Administration leaders acknowledged staffing woes after DOGE-led reductions. Show Caption Hide Caption Explaining the NNSA, latest agency hit by DOGE cuts The NNSA within the Department of Energy is tasked with ensuring the nation's nuclear arsenal is safe and secure, but it isn't safe from DOGE cuts. During May 20 testimony, top acting officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration acknowledged the risk and impact of workforce vacancies caused by Elon Musk's DOGE. A USA TODAY investigation published May 18 detailed the potential impact of endemic federal staffing shortages at NNSA recently exacerbated by the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce. WASHINGTON − Top leaders of the agency responsible for the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile admitted to DOGE-related staffing challenges at a Senate hearing. Asked by Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, if a hiring freeze, resignations and attrition could bring 'some pretty important vacancies,' acting National Nuclear Security Agency defense programs head David Hoagland said, 'That's very true.' Hoagland said at the May 20 hearing that his office had "shifted people around" to meet "critical needs." 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.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump pushes $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile defense plan
Trump pushes $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile defense plan "It's a generational investment in the security of America and Americans," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Show Caption Hide Caption Explaining the NNSA, latest agency hit by DOGE cuts The NNSA within the Department of Energy is tasked with ensuring the nation's nuclear arsenal is safe and secure, but it isn't safe from DOGE cuts. Trump and Hegseth announced an initial funding request for the Golden Dome missile defense plan and tapped a Space Force general to lead the initiative. Missile defense experts argue that strategic defenses can help prevent wars, but arms control advocates have long held that they instead inspire deadlier nuclear weapons designed to defeat them. WASHINGTON − Cruise missiles. Ballistic missiles. Hypersonic missiles. Drones. All capable of nuclear strikes on U.S. soil. President Donald Trump's vision for a U.S. homeland safe from such threats moved forward when he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a $25 billion initial investment in a 'Golden Dome' shielding Americans. The president also said the system "should be fully operational before the end of my term," in 2029. "It's a generational investment in the security of America and Americans," said Hegseth. The Golden Dome plan aims to cover the country with three layers of air defenses, according to written Senate testimony by Northern Command leader Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot. Sensors will let the military see incoming threats, ground-based interceptor missiles and future systems will target incoming ballistic missiles, and additional systems will deal with lower-altitude threats like hypersonic missiles and enemy drones. The funding is included as part of the Trump-endorsed tax cut megabill currently working its way through Congress, the president said. Trump and Hegseth tapped Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead Golden Dome efforts, as POLITICO first reported. In remarks to reporters, Guetlein described the project as a "bold and aggressive" counter to worsening threats from adversaries like Russia and China. Military officials, experts, and intelligence agencies warn the U.S. homeland is vulnerable to strategic attack. Many of the Golden Dome's projected capabilities remain on the drawing board, though, and its cost will depend on its desired scale. Trump said the system will cost $175 billion, though details about that estimate remain unclear, such as how much of it represents an increase to future-generation tech research as opposed to expanding existing technologies. It's also unclear how effective a system relying solely on existing tech would be if it were to face down a mass nuclear attack from Russia or China. A May 5 report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that deploying and operating a bare-bones space-based capability to intercept one or two incoming ballistic missiles would cost at least $161 billion over two decades. (CBO officials said in the report they are still calculating the estimated operating cost of the more expansive capabilities sought for the Golden Dome.) The plan is not without its skeptics. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, pressed top military missile defense officials in a May 13 congressional hearing, asking top brass whether 'we could deny a substantial missile attack from Russia or China.' In recent years, the military has invested roughly $8 billion in missile defenses for the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific that is home to nearly 170,000 people. 'If we're talking about providing the level of defense that we have on Guam for our (mainland) citizens … we're talking about an awful lot of money,' King said. He questioned whether the country should instead further invest in the nation's beleaguered nuclear arsenal modernization push, which will cost nearly $1 trillion between now and 2034. More: Price of US nuclear weapons jumps 25% to nearly $1 trillion by 2034, budget office says 'I'm all for protecting the homeland, it's just a question of how much will it cost relative to other defense needs,' the senator added. He argued that directed energy beam technology currently under development, if realized, presents the best long-term solution to the cost issue. Arms control advocates have traditionally argued that increased missile defense makes the world less stable because it inspires adversaries to develop new offensive weapons that can defeat such defenses. During the Cold War, Soviet officials feared that U.S. missile defense efforts were meant to enable America to launch a surprise nuclear attack without fear of retaliation. But some missile defense experts, including Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, claim that recent conflicts show the paradigm has changed around the use of non-nuclear missiles against strategic targets far behind the front lines. More: Will Trump's 'Iron Dome' missile defense make Americans safer? It's complicated Karako said the largely successful multinational defense of Israel from an April 2023 Iranian ballistic missile attack 'prevented a war' and offers an illustrative example. 'If some large fraction of those 550+ projectiles got to Israel … there would have been a massive reprisal,' Karako said, arguing the episode is a 'case study in how … fairly effective air and missile defenses contribute to strategic stability.' Space is part of today's battlefield, Karako said, and framing the issue of missile defense as one of strictly nuclear attack prevention is outdated. 'The 1980s called, and they want their arms control and disarmament discussions back,' he said. 'We are facing a very different situation today.' If you have news tips to share about the Golden Dome or other nuclear matters, 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.
