nuclear weapons budget


Another Nail in the Coffin of the Misguided MOX Program

, senior scientist

March 23, 2018 11:29 AM EDT

In the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending bill passed by the House of Representatives yesterday and the Senate today, Congress is taking an encouraging step toward terminating the wasteful and dangerous Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Plant, under construction at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The MOX plant, if completed, would be used to dispose of 34 metric tons of excess plutonium from the U.S. nuclear weapons program by turning it into fuel for nuclear reactors. However, the project is decades behind schedule and is now expected to cost upwards of $50 billion—ten times the original estimate. Read more >

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The Case of the “Low-Yield” Trident Warhead

, Washington representative and senior analyst

March 19, 2018 4:02 PM EDT

Among the nuclear weapons programs included in the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, only one could start this year and be fully implemented in 2019. The military could field a “low-yield” nuclear warhead for the Trident missiles carried by US submarines.

What is this new warhead capability, and where does the proposal stand? Read more >

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Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review: Top Take-Aways

, co-director and senior scientist

February 2, 2018 12:58 PM EDT

The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), just released, lays out a policy that will make the use of nuclear weapons more likely and undercut US security.

It includes a wide range of changes to US nuclear weapons policy and calls for deploying additional types of nuclear weapons. Some of these changes can take place relatively quickly—within the time remaining in President Trump’s term—and others will take years to realize. In the latter case, however, political repercussions could occur well before completion of the effort. Read more >

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The Trump’s Administration’s Dangerous New Nuclear Policy

, Washington representative and senior analyst

January 12, 2018 3:37 PM EDT

Last night the Huffington Post released a draft version of the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, a deeply dangerous document that makes nuclear war more likely. UCS has a press statement on the draft, and below is a compilation of some additional quick thoughts on the draft, with more to come. Read more >

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The Case of the Missing Numbers

, Washington representative and senior analyst

June 15, 2017 12:23 PM EDT

Good performance requires good long-term planning. For federal agencies like the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), one of its important functions is preparing its part of the federal government’s annual budget request, which normally includes information on projected budget requirements for future years. This year, not so much. Read more >

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