March 17, 2014

IN MARKUP, HOUSE PANEL RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT W78/W88 REFURBISHMENT

By ExchangeMonitor

Concerned about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s ability to pull off an interoperable warhead that could be replace the W78 and W88 weapons systems, the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee unveiled legislation yesterday that would require the Nuclear Weapons Council to broaden the scope of its refurbishment studies. The NWC already broadened the scope of studies on the W78/W88 life extension program to include a separate W88 refurbishment option, but the House version of the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act released yesterday would also require a study of a separate W78 refurbishment, as well as any other options considered “appropriate.” The requirement would ensure that each option would receive a “full analysis of feasibility, design definition, and cost estimation,” the subcommittee said. The panel is scheduled to mark up the bill at 10:30 a.m. today. “The Nuclear Weapons Council must have full information on the various options for the life extension before entering Phase 6.3 (Development Engineering) of the program,” the subcommittee said in a summary of the legislation, adding that feasibility, design definition, and cost estimates should be “developed to enable a fully informed decision by the Nuclear Weapons Council on a final option.”

The legislation comes a year after the subcommittee drafted language to drastically reform the NNSA, and the panel appears to have slightly scaled back its ambitions, making smaller tweaks to the agency. The subcommittee’s efforts last year led to the creation of a 12-member panel that will make recommendations about NNSA governance, and the ongoing study somewhat limited the scope of what the panel could do, though it did include a host of other NNSA-related initiatives in its version of the bill. The bill includes language that:

Directs the Navy, along with the Department of Defense and DOE, to study the “feasibility, costs, benefits, and risks” in moving design and construction of defense nuclear facilities to military construction;
Requires the NNSA to submit to Congress and DOE an annual report on the security of the weapons complex as well as a requirement for DOE to submit a report to Congress by Sept. 30 on plans to security problems revealed by last year’s Y-12 security breach;
Requires the creation of a Center for Security Technology, Analysis, Testing, and Response that would serve as a clearinghouse for expertise on security technologies, systems, analysis, testing, and response forces;
Requires the NNSA to cover $139.5 million in Directed Stockpile Work and Nuclear Programs funding in the event that planned funding efficiencies that drove budget projections are not realized;
Requires the NNSA to submit a cost-benefit analysis for its management and operating contract award decisions to Congress 30 days after a protest is resolved;
Moves back the due date for a report by the NNSA governance panel to March 1, 2014, and pushing back the due date for an interim report to Oct. 1, 2013; and
Directs the NNSA to develop a roadmap for advanced manufacturing technologies.

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