Proposed Budget Prioritizes Life Extension Program Work
Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
2/2/2015
One year after delaying the cruise missile warhead life extension program, the Obama Administration is proposing to shift its approach in Fiscal Year 2016, accelerating work on the refurbishment effort and providing a significant funding boost for the program. The program, renamed the W80-4 life extension program after the W80 warhead was down-selected for use in the refurbishment, was among the clear winners when the National Nuclear Security Administration’s FY 2016 budget request was released today as the Administration sought to patch up holes in its plan to modernize the nation’s weapons complex and nuclear arsenal.
Overall, the Administration requested $8.8 billion for the NNSA’s weapons program, a $615 million increase from FY 2015 enacted levels, prioritizing warhead life extension work over other capabilities in its Research, Develop, Test and Evaluation account. “We have the oldest stockpile we’ve ever had in the nation,” NNSA weapons program chief Don Cook said during a conference call with reporters. “It’s now smaller than at any time since the Eisenhower Administration. We don’t have any choice at this point. We’ve got to put the focus on the life extension programs.”
In addition to the funding increase, the weapons program would also get a boost from the transfer of Nuclear Counterterrorism Incident Response and Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation Programs to the nonproliferation budget. The programs represent $234.4 million of funding freed up in the weapons program budget.
Steady Climb for Weapons Program Projected
The increase for the weapons program is part of a steady climb in funding for the account. Budget documents project that weapons program funding will reach $9.28 billion in FY 2017, climbing steadily to $9.83 billion in FY 2020. Part of the increase continues to come through funding authority allocated by the Department of Defense. The Pentagon will provide $1.6 billion in funding authority in FY 2017, part of a $15.9 billion transfer planned from FY 2017 to FY 2025, according to estimates published today.
The Administration requested $195 million for the W80-4 refurbishment, a $185.6 million increase from last year, when it requested $9.4 million to begin a study on the project. At the time, it delayed the completion of a First Production Unit on the refurbished warhead from 2024 to 2027, though it said at the time that it hoped to restore at least some of the schedule delay if budgetary pressure was alleviated. “This is essentially getting more precision where in that particular window the First Production Unit” will be completed, NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz said.
In the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress addressed the delay, requiring that a FPU on the warhead be completed by Sept. 30, 2025, unless the commander of U.S. Strategic Command certifies that a delay to 2026 doesn’t negatively impact the nation’s nuclear deterrence needs. Congress provided $9.1 million in FY 2015 for a study on refurbishing the cruise missile warhead. Phase 6.2 of the refurbishment study—to identify design options and analyze lifecycle advantages and disadvantages—is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of FY 2015, while the Phase 6.2a design definition and cost study is slated to begin in FY 2017.
Admin. Moving Ahead with High Explosives Refresh for W88 Alt 370
The W88 Alt 370 was the other big winner in the weapons program budget request. The Administration requested $220.2 million for the effort to replace the arming, fuzing, and firing system in the W88 warhead, a $54.8 million increase from FY 2015. The increase is largely the result of a decision to increase the scope of the project, refreshing the conventional high explosives in the warhead. The NNSA had previously planned to refresh the conventional high explosives as part of a full refurbishment of the warhead, but Navy officials said last year that doing so as part of the Alt 370 is expected to save money. The W88 Alt 370 First Production Unit remains scheduled for FY 2020, according to budget documents.
The Administration requested relatively flat funding for the B61 life extension program, asking for $643.3 million—a $300,000 increase from FY 2015. It also requested $244 million for the W76 LEP, a $15.1 million decrease from FY 2015. No funding was requested for the W78/W88 interoperable warhead for the second year—the Administration announced a five-year deferral of the program a year ago—though budget documents indicate that a study on the program is scheduled to resume in 2020, with a First Production Unit planned for 2030.
Infrastructure Addressed
The Administration also is creating a new Infrastructure and Safety program to address the declining state of the agency’s infrastructure. The initiative takes significant work from the Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities budget line, and the Administration requested $1.46 billion for the work in FY 2016. It requested $1.05 billion for RTBF work. The Infrastructure and Safety program includes operations of facilities, safety operations, maintenance, recapitalization, and line item construction. “Together these elements provide a comprehensive approach to arresting the declining state of NNSA infrastructure,” the Administration said in budget documents. “The FY 2016 funding will support vital NNSA program requirements while allowing NNSA to execute additional recapitalization projects that will address critical safety and program risks.”
As part of an effort to get a handle on its nuclear material production efforts, the Administration for the first time consolidated funding for material and production activities in a Nuclear Material Commodities program. The program includes funding for plutonium, uranium, tritium, and enriched uranium for tritium production. The Administration asked for $32.9 million for uranium sustainment, $174.7 million for plutonium sustainment, $107.3 million for tritium sustainment, and $100 million for domestic uranium enrichment, which will primarily go to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to keep the current American Centrifuge Project running in warm standby. The program managers will give the NNSA “a lot more control over budget and schedule than had previously been in place,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a press conference with reporters today.
