Mission Support and Test Services officially took over management of the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site on Friday, the agency’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said.
The Nevada National Security Site is the former Nevada Test Site where the United States conducted explosive atmospheric and underground nuclear weapon tests. The site today conducts non-nuclear tests to help maintain the nuclear potency of the existing U.S. deterrent.
The site also hosts a small Cold War cleanup program managed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
In May, the Department of Energy awarded the Honeywell-led Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS) a Nevada site management and operations contract worth about $5 billion over 10 years, including options. MSTS replaces the Northrop Grumman-led National Security Technologies, which had been on the job since 2006.
MSTS wound up with the Nevada management contract after DOE last year revoked an earlier award to competitor Nevada Site Science Support and Technologies Corp., which when it bid on the pact was part of Lockheed Martin. However, Lockheed transferred its interest in Nevada Site Science Support and Technologies Corp. to Leidos last year, apparently without DOE’s knowledge.
After the agency withdrew its award to the now-Leidos-controlled group, it restarted competition for the Nevada management contract and MSTS came out on top in May.
