NNSA PUSHES UP COMPLETION SCHEDULE FOR W76 REFURBISHMENT TO 2019

The National Nuclear Security Administration has scrapped plans to push the completion of refurbished “hedge” W76 warheads back to 2021 and now plans to complete the entire W76 life extension program by 2019, according to budget documents released this week. The change comes after Navy officials publicly raised concerns that the decision to push back the completion of the W76 refurbishment program erased any margin in the refurbishment effort. The decision was largely driven by competing life extension priorities, most notably from the B61 refurbishment, which is scheduled for a First Production Unit in 2019, but officials with knowledge of the agency’s plans told NW&M Monitor that the NNSA was able to refurbish fewer W76 warheads than it planned because of stockpile changes based on new guidance and changes based on implementation of the New START Treaty. The NNSA did not provide any rationale for the change in its budget documents, only noting that the Nuclear Weapons Council voted in January to complete the W76 life extension program. The agency also did not respond yesterday to a request for comment. “This directed change will result in revised targets for the W76-1 LEP activity,” NNSA budget documents state. “A Baseline Change Request is in process to rebaseline the program to reflect Nuclear Weapons Council direction on LEP production.”