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Ten-year costs of nuclear forces estimated at $494 billion

Posted at 4:04 pm January 26, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

U.S. nuclear forces could cost about $494 billion during a 10-year period if current plans are followed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO is required by law to estimate the 10-year costs every two years. The new estimate is $494 billion for work between 2019 to 2028, the CBO said in a report published this month. That’s an average of just under $50 billion a year.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge participates in the nuclear weapons work along with other U.S. Department of Energy sites and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The CBO said nuclear weapons have been an important part of U.S. national security since they were developed during World War II. Oak Ridge was the main production site for the top-secret project to build those first weapons, and Y-12 continues to work on nuclear weapons. One modernization program for the W76-1 warhead was recently completed, and another for the B61-12 bomb has started.

The CBO said nuclear forces were central to U.S. defense policy during the Cold War, and a large arsenal was built. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: ballistic missiles, bombs, CBO, Cold War, Congressional Budget Office, defense policy, DOE, intercontinental ballistic missiles, National Nuclear Security Administration, nuclear cruise missile, nuclear delivery systems, nuclear forces, Nuclear Posture Review, nuclear warheads, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons laboratories, plutonium pits, submarine-launched ballistic missile, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. nuclear forces, U.S. nuclear stockpile, W76-2 warhead, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 facilities could be crucial in plan to replace W78 warhead

Posted at 1:41 pm December 4, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

U.S. Air Force missile maintainers working on an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams/GAO-19-84)

U.S. Air Force missile maintainers working on an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams/GAO-19-84)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration is preparing to restart a program to replace the W78 nuclear warhead, and new facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be important to that project, a federal agency said Friday.

The W78 is one of two types of warheads on U.S. Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles. The W87 is the other.

Critical components inside the W78 are aging, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which published a report about the warhead replacement program on Friday. Also, the military’s requirements for, among other things, the safety and security features of the warhead have changed since it entered the stockpile in 1979, the GAO said.

Besides being used by the Air Force, the replacement W78 warhead could be used in ballistic missiles launched from Navy submarines, although further studies are required, the GAO said.

The two Y-12 facilities that could affect the warhead replacement program are the Uranium Processing Facility, which is now under construction, and the Lithium Production Facility, which could have a new building through a project that is still in the planning stages. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Allison B. Bawden, ballistic missile nuclear warhead, ballistic missiles, GAO, GAO report, life extension program, Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, lithium production facility, modernization, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, non-nuclear components, Nuclear Posture Review, nuclear warhead, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons stockpile, secondary, thermonuclear weapons, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Navy, UPF, uranium processing facility, W78, W78 nuclear warhead, W78 replacement, W78 replacement warhead, W78 warhead, W87, warhead replacement

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