Los Alamos Study Group

Nuclear Weapons Modernization: Current Articles and Issues
Other selected analyses and background • Plutonium pit production
updated 3 Mar 2026

LAND

• Sentinel software development “slower than anticipated,” GAO says, Exchange Monitor, Feb 22, 2026
• First Air Force Sentinel flight test from pad planned next year, Exchange Monitor, Feb 20, 2026
• National Security Snapshot: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization Faces Critical Risks and Opportunities, GAO-26-108755, Feb 18, 2026
• Security Forces Guarding ICBMs Need Fresh Tactics To Defend New Sentinel Silos, Joseph Trevithick, TWZ, Feb 18, 2026
• US Air Force sees early 2030s rollout for revamped Sentinel nuclear missile, Stephen Losey, DefenseNews, Feb 17, 2026
• USAF considers modular missile silos for Sentinel, Cramer says new silos “well settled”, Exchange Monitor, Jan 28, 2026
• Troubled Sentinel ICBM Program Still Being Restructured Nearly Two Years After Cost Breach, Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman, TWZ, Jan 27, 2026
• The Nuclear Sponge: Series by Davis Winkie,USA Today, Jan 2026
    — Part 1: USA Today's fallout maps show what could happen if America’s nuclear missile silos were attacked, Jan 5, 2025
    — Part 2: US nuke silos get $140 billion upgrade. Are they a liability or asset?, Jan 6, 2026
    — Part 3: Crumbling silos, rushed deals – how US blew missile budget by billions, Jan 6, 2026
    — Part 4: Is it too late to rethink US nuclear strategy? Experts review options., Jan 6, 2026

2025
• Why Should We Replace Our ICBMs?, Robert Rudney, The American Prospect, Dec 16, 2025
• Sentinel shifting to Golden Dome under NDAA, GOP senators say, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, Dec 2, 2025
• Lockheed Martin Just Won $450 Million in New Nuclear Weapons Funding, Brandon J. Weichert, The National Interest, Nov 20, 2025
• Sentinel and the Future of the ICBM Force, Stephen Cimbala and Lawrence J. Korb, The National Interest, Oct 16, 2025
• Trump's "Super Duper" Delusion, Scott Ritter, Oct 11, 2025 — Minor error: there are 400 ICBMs deployed, not 450. There are 450 silos; 50 are empty.
• USAF wants to solidify requirements for Sentinel silos, launch centers, Exchange Monitor, Oct 10, 2025
• Nuclear missile workers are contracting cancer. They blame the bases, Montana Free Press, Oct 1, 2025
• Updated Sentinel acquisition strategy in Works, EMD approval seen in 2027, Exchange Monitor, Sep 26, 2025
• Air Force general pledges to ‘get Sentinel done,’ expects Milestone B in 2027, Michael Marrow, Breaking Defense, Sep 23, 2025

Sentinel GBSD concept

2023
• A gigantic new ICBM will take U.S. nuclear missiles out of the Cold War-era but add 21st-century risks, Associated Press, Dec 10, 2023
• Air Force general says Sentinel can be tipped with multiple warheads, Exchange Monitor, Dec 1, 2023
• Carcinogens found at Montana nuclear missile sites as reports of hundreds of cancers surface, Associated Press, Aug 7, 2023
• Air Force authorizes start of construction on Sentinel support facilities, Exchange Monitor, Jun 2, 2023
• Shifting military requirements changed design of new ICBM pit; first unit delayed, Exchange Monitor, Feb 17, 2023

2022 • Inside the $100 Billion Mission to Modernize America’s Aging Nuclear Missiles, Time, Sep 13, 2022

2021
• Lawmakers set for battle over next-gen nuclear missile, Defense News, Sep 9, 2021

2020
• ICBM Fuse Program Faces Delays From Capacitor Issue, Exchange Monitor, Feb 28, 2020
• Second Minuteman Launch to Test NNSA-Made Warhead Fuse in the Books, Exchange Monitor, Feb 7, 2020

2018
• Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Fuze Modernization (ICBM Fuze Mod), Dec 2018

AIR

• The U.S. Air Force’s B-52 Bomber Could Once Again Be Ready to Drop Nuclear Bombs, Christian D. Orr, 1945, Feb 23, 2026
• Defense authorization bill omits Senate proposal for LRSO acceleration, Exchange Monitor, Dec 15, 2025
• The U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman [NOC] may have a crew of one pilot and one weapons systems officer (WSO) instead of two pilots, as previously planned, Exchange Monitor, Nov 7, 2025
• Air Force personnel to show industry reps B-52H equipment to be modified for LRSO, Exchange Monitor, Oct 31, 2025
• Second B-21 Raider bomber arrives at Edwards, Air Force plans more flight tests, Exchange Monitor, Sep 19, 2025
• F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, GAO-25-107632, Sep 2025
• U.S. Building Container Vaults To Deploy U.S. Nuclear Bombs To Remote Bases, Joseph Trevithick, TWZ, Jul 23, 2025
• Lawmakers want independent redo of Air Force missile community cancer study, Davis Winkie, USA Today, Jul 22, 2025
• Acceleration of LRSO proposed by Senate defense authorizers, Exchange Monitor, Jul 18, 2025
• UK to buy 12 nuclear-carrying F-35A jets from the United States and join NATO nuclear mission, Vasco Cotovio, CNN World, Jun 24, 2025
• B61-13 first production unit completed ahead of schedule, Kenny Vigil, Sandia Lab News, Jun 12, 2025
• British fighter jets to carry nuclear bombs, Harry Yorke, Tom Newton Dunn, The Times, May 31, 2025
• Flight test for W87-1 planned for next calendar year, Sandia says, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, May 23, 2025

F-35 fighter jet

• More B-21s May Be Necessary If B-52J Upgrade Goes Awry, Allvin Says, John A. Tirpak, Air & Space Forces, May 21, 2025
• Why the Nuclear Gravity Bomb Has Gotten a Reboot, David A. Hoagland, War On the Rocks, May 20, 2025
• USAF blames ‘design, production, and installation’ costs for B-52 breach, Exchange Monitor, May 20, 2025
• NNSA Completes Assembly of the First B61-13 Nuclear Gravity Bomb Ahead of Schedule, Los Alamos Reporter, May 19, 2025
• Despite B-52 cost breach, W80-4 will ‘stay the course,’ Sandia director says, Exchange Monitor, May 16, 2025

B52-H Stratofortress

• First production unit of B61-13 gravity bomb could be out this month: NNSA exec, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, May 9, 2025
• B61-13 ‘significantly ahead of schedule,’ NNSA tells Fox News, Exchange Monitor, Apr 18, 2025
• Hoeven wants Air Force budget updates for various projects, Exchange Monitor, Mar 14, 2025
• B61-12 LEP sustainment begins after last production unit produced, Exchange Monitor, Feb 28, 2025
• W80-4 undergoes ‘nominal’ flight test, Sandia director says, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, Jan 31, 2025

2024
• Air Force Joint-Global Strike Operations Center commander says 80-4 ‘going well and on time’, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, Dec 6, 2024
• Bomber fleet size target ‘probably’ needs to be reassessed: Air Force Global Strike chief, Michael Marrow, Dec 6, 2024
• US Unable to Operate Modified B-52s Before 2033, Sergey Lebedev, Sputnik International, Oct 25, 2024
• F-35: $2T in 'generational wealth' the military had no right to spend, Dan Grazier & Lucas Ruiz, Responsible Statecraft, Aug 21, 2024
• Air Force says restoring nukes on some B-52s would cost $4.5 million, Defense News, Aug 2, 2024
• Marines hit operational status with second carrier-capable F35-C unit, Defense News, Jul 31, 2024
• NORAD jets intercept 4 Russian and Chinese bombers off Alaska coast, Stars and Stripes, Jul 25, 2024
• The Air Force Keeps Pulling Old B-1B Lancer Bombers from the 'Boneyard', The National Interest, Jul 24, 2024
• Another B-1 Back from the Boneyard: Air Force Regenerating Second Lancer in Four Months, Air & Space Forces Magazine, Jul 24, 2024
• Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Jul 23, 2024
• B-21 Raider Bomber: The Air Force's Ultimate Flying Machine Has Arrived, The National Interest, Jul 23, 2024
• B-21 Raider Bomber Only Has 1 Enemy (Not Russia or China), The National Interest, Jul 22, 2024
• 2024 World Air Forces directory, Flight Global, Jul 2024
• Pentagon still withholding F-35 payments to Lockheed over upgrade delays, Breaking Defense, Jul 20, 2024
• Air Force strikes deal with Boeing for E-7 Wedgetail, Breaking Defense, Jul 20, 2024
• Pentagon resumes accepting F-35 deliveries with TR-3 upgrade, Breaking Defense, Jul 19, 2024
• The B-21 Raider Has One Problem the Air Force Can't Easily Fix, The National Interest, Jun 25, 2024
• The price of each B-21 bomber is likely going up, Defense One, Jun 24, 2024
• Air Force to Make First of 13 HACM Hypersonic Tests This Fall, Air & Space Forces Magazine, Jun 24,2024
• ‘Late-to-the-Party Suicide Drill’: Ex-DoD Analyst Derides Bid to Upgrade Outdated B-52s With Nukes, Sputnik International, Jun 23, 2024
• Congress wants to restore nukes on conventional B-52 bombers, Defense News, Jun 18, 2024
• Senators Want to Block F-22 and F-15E Retirements, Require Study on Air Superiority, Air and Space Forces Magazine, Jun 14, 2024
• B-21 Exempt from LRIP Limitation, DoD Says, Exchange Monitor, Jun 7, 2024
• B-52 Stratofortress: The 'Old' Bomber the U.S. Air Force Can't Retire, The National Interest, May 23, 2024
• US to build new ‘doomsday plane’, RT, Apr 27, 2024
• LRSO Nuclear Missile’s Development Extended, Funding Deferred, Air & Space Forces Magazine, Mar 23, 2024
• While USSF Budget Dips, Funds for New Nuclear Command and Control Satellites Jump, Air & Space Forces Magazine, Mar 18, 2024
• 70 Percent or More of F-35s May Not Be Combat Capable, Mike Fredenburg, The Epoch Times, Mar 15, 2024
• The new B-52: How the Air Force is prepping to fly century-old bombers, DefenseNews, Feb 12, 2024
• Mass production of B61-12, W88 Alt 370 at halfway point, Exchange Monitor, Jan 12, 2024
• NNSA reaches halfway mark for production of B61-12 and W88 warheads, Exchange Monitor, Jan 5, 2024

2022
• House appropriations bill would approve $21B for NNSA in 2023, keep B83 alive, kill SLCM-N, Exchange Monitor, Jun 29, 2022

2016
• NNSA Has a New Approach to Managing the B61-12 Life Extension, but a Constrained Schedule and Other Risks Remain, GAO, Feb 2016

SEA

• Acceleration plan pulls first Columbia sub delivery back to 2028, 65% complete, Exchange Monitor, Feb 20, 2026
• W80-5 “just came up,” will go on SLCM-N, weapons directors say, Sarah Salem, Jan 30, 2026
• First Trump-class battleship could cost over $20 billion: CBO, Valerie Insinna, Breaking Defense, Jan 16, 2026
• Navy Shipbuilding, Improving Warfighter Engagement and Tools for Operational Testing Could Increase Timeliness and Usefulness, GAO-26-108781, Jan 2026
• Introducing Trump's puzzling nuclear-armed battleship, Colin Demarest, Axios, Jan 7, 2026

2025
• Palantir Lands $448 Million Deal To Fix Navy Submarine Delays, ZeroHedge, Dec 10, 2025
• Five organizations get green light on SLCM-N prototype designs, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, Sep 5, 2025
• Navy leaders tell lawmakers Columbia-sub about 17 months late, Exchange Monitor, Jun 29, 2025
• Navy pushing billions for sea-based nukes that nobody seems to want, Stavroula Pabst, Responsible Statecraft, May 22, 2025
• Integration on Virginia-class subs the 'greatest risk' for nuclear sea-launched cruise missile: Navy official, Valerie Insinna, Breaking Defense, May 21, 2025

Sea-launched cruise missile

• US Navy wants sea-launched nuke missiles to hold China at bay, Gabriel Honrada, Asia Times, May 13, 2025
• New SSBN 12-18 months late but trying to recover partial time, Navy tells lawmakers, Exchange Monitor, Apr 18, 2025
• Navy leaning on new tech in new sub production, nuke director says, Exchange Monitor, Apr 4, 2025
• Kelly calls SLCM-N program ‘disruptive,’ STRATCOM commander disagrees, Exchange Monitor, Mar 28, 2025
• Navy Shipbuilding: a Generational Imperative for Systemic Change, GAO-25-108136, Mar 11, 2025
• Virginia Subs, Some Surface Ships Safe in New Pentagon FY 2026 Budget Review, Mallory Shelbourne, Sam Lagrone, USNI News, Feb 20, 2025

Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Submarine

• Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N), CRS, Feb 12, 2025
• Lockheed Martin wins $383M Trident II contract mod, Exchange Monitor, Feb 7, 2025
• Memo to Trump: Cancel the sea-launched nuclear cruise missile, David Kearn, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Jan 17, 2025

2024
• Sub-launched nuclear cruise missile will need ‘an entirely new industrial base,’ warns Navy admiral, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr, Breaking Defense, Nov 15, 2024
• US Navy's new submarines are 'in crisis' as costs balloon by $17 billion, lawmaker says, Chris Panella, Business Insider, Sep 20, 2024
• An unusual announcement about a US Navy submarine packed with cruise missiles is a loud message that puts Iran on notice, Business Insider, Aug 14, 2024
• US Navy’s warship production is in its worst state in 25 years. What’s behind it?, Stars and Stripes, Aug 11, 2024
• US needs more nuclear subs, mobile ICBMs and tactical nukes: Heritage report, Breaking Defense, Jul 30, 2024
• Report to Congress on SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine, USNI News, Jul 25, 2024
• Ford-Class: The U.S. Navy's New Aircraft Carrier Is Way Too Expensive, The National Interest, Jul 25, 2024
• Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Jul 24, 2024
• Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Jul 23, 2024
• Columbia-Class: The U.S. Navy's $347,000,000 Missile Submarines Has Problems, The National Interest, Jul 3, 2024
• The U.S. Navy's New Columbia-Class Missile Submarine Has a Problem, National Interest, Jun 24, 2024
• A Very 'Limited' Nuclear Attack? MIT Professor Ted Postol explains, Daniel Davis / Deep Dive, (includes slides on the Russian Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo), Mar 24, 2024
• Sea-launched cruise missile is NNSA unfunded priority; warhead other than W80-4 possible; Savannah River taking half of W93’s pits, Exchange Monitor, Apr 19, 2024
• The U.S. Navy's Columbia-Class Submarine Nightmare Is Just Getting Started, The National Interest, Apr 11, 2024
• STRATCOM head embraces nuclear sea-launched cruise missile as modernization must, Exchange Monitor, Feb 29, 2024
• STRATCOM Promises Senate No Gap in Ballistic Missile Submarine Coverage, USNI News, Feb 29, 2024

2022
• Bipartisan votes in annual defense-spending debate save sea-launched nuke, boost pits by lots, Exchange Monitor, Jun 23, 2022

2020
• STRATCOM Commander ‘Proud’ of W93, Won’t Say Much Else About It, Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor, Feb 28, 2020

ALL

• Federal memo urges increased plutonium pit production at LANL, The memo was released last week by the watchdog Los Alamos Study Group, Albuquerque Journal, Mar 1, 2026
• Los Alamos National Laboratory to allow for additional annual worker dose, NNSA official says, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 28, 2026
• NNSA memo requires mods to reach 100 pit capacity by end of 2028, 60 pits per year afterward, Sarah Salem, Exchange Monitor, Feb 27, 2026
• LANL may be asked to double plutonium pit production, per federal memo, Alaina Mencinger, with published comments by Greg Mello, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 27, 2026
• The House of Dynamite We Forgot: And What We Can Learn From Nuclear History, James Graham Wilson, Outrider, Feb 25, 2026
• USAF Ready To Make All B-52s Nuclear-Capable, Load ICBMs With Multiple Warheads If Directed, Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman, TWZ, Feb 11, 2026
• Trump's Golden Dome missile shield marks one year with little progress, Mike Stone, Reuters, Jan 27, 2026
• Plunging Into the Abyss, Michael Klare, TomDispatch, Jan 8, 2026
• Michael Klare, Edging Closer to Armageddon?, TomDispatch, Jan 8, 2026
• The Enormous Costs of 'Science Based Stockpile Stewardship' for Nuclear Weapons, Mark Schneider, RealClear Defense, Jan 7, 2026

2023
• Dems want cost estimates Congress didn't ask for in nuke modernization report, Exchange Monitor, Nov 17, 2023
• America's Strategic Posture: The Final Report of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, Oct 2023
• Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the top-secret Manhattan Project, Associated Press, Sep 23, 2023
• Livermore's Bauer to lead new 'blueprint' to revamp NNSA enterprise, Exchange Monitor, Sep 1, 2023
• GAO: Assessments of Major Projects, GAO-23-104402, Aug 2023
• Oppenheimer: The Real Plan for U.S. Nuclear Domination, Then and Now, Brian Becker, BreakThroughNews, Jul 27, 2023
• CovertAction Bulletin: “The Past Is Not Past” – Oppenheimer and the U.S. Nuclear Program Today, Covert Action Magazine, Jul 26, 2023
• Sluggish plutonium-pit production tells allies and adversaries U.S. nuke modernization 'not important,' expert says, Exchange Monitor, May 26, 2023
• US nuclear weapons modernization plan spurs cost questions, Associated Press, Apr 26, 2023
• Labor shortage outlasts COVID, delays nuclear-weapons infrastructure, NNSA administrator says, Exchange Monitor, Mar 31, 2023
• NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability, GAO, Jan 2023
• US nuclear agency falls short on scheduling, cost estimates, Associated Press, Jan 12, 2023
• $10 Trillion for Nuclear War: Racing to the Nuclear Cliff, The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, Jan 10, 2023
• US Nuclear Deterrent Jeopardized by Weak Infrastructure, NewsMax, Jan 5, 2023

2022
• NNSA report calls for reform of management and ops contracts; says parents cos. of site management teams of little help, Exchange Monitor, Oct 28, 2022
• Demand boom predicted for glove boxes in coming years, Exchange Monitor, Oct 7, 2022
• NNSA Evolving the Nuclear Security Enterprise, Sep 2022
• The Huge Gap Between How Serious Nuclear War Is And How Seriously It’s Being Taken, caitlanjohnstone.com, Mar 16, 2022
• Nuclear expert speaks on the dangers of war between the US and Russia, World Socialist Web Site, Mar 15, 2022

2021
• Senators eye NNSA plans for waste disposal as nuke modernization continues, Aiken Standard, Sep 23, 2021
• Jill Hruby holds first all-hands meeting and outlines initiatives and priorities, NNSA, Aug 2, 2021
• The Nuclear Weapons Council is worried about Biden’s spending. So are activists., Aiken Standard, Jul 31, 2021
• NNSA Should Use Portfolio Management Leading Practices to Support Modernization Efforts, GAO, Jun 2021
• US officials double down on push for nuclear modernization, Associated Press, Jun 25, 2021
• Time To Stop Modernizing America’s Nukes And To Start Negotiating Peace – OpEd, EurasiaReview, Dave Lindorff, Jun 23, 2021
• Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center virtual forum on Modernizing the US Strategic Nuclear Deterrent, Jun 22, 2021
• Senators Mostly Unmoved by Disarmament Arguments, but King Curious About Sole Launch Authority, Exchange Monitor, Jun 17, 2021
• $20B Biden NNSA Budget Whacks Weapon Activities, Compared With Trump Forecast, Exchange Monitor, May 28, 2021
• Biden proposes $1 billion for nuclear weapons work, Santa Fe New Mexican, May 28, 2021
• Estimated Cost of US Nuclear Modernization Jumps During More Expensive Phase, Defense One, May 24, 2021
• Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2021 to 2030, Congressional Budget Office, May 24, 2021 Supplemental data; Underlying tables
• Rep. Wilson, others urge Biden to invest in nuke modernization and pit production, Aiken Standard, Mar 25, 2021
• US, Russia Can Seek Missile Defense INF Limits After New START Deal - Arms, UrduPoint, Feb 6, 2021

2020
• Nuclear Weapons: We can Agree to ... Agree, Politico, Aug 11, 2020
• UK lobbies US to support controversial new nuclear warheads, The Guardian, Aug 1, 2020
• Nuclear Delivery Systems Sustainment & Modernization Overview, Hon Alan R. Shaffer, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, Nuclear Deterrence Summit, Feb 13, 2020
• Wilson, Graham, Scott pressed Trump for more nuclear funding, letters show, Aiken Standard, Feb 13, 2020
• Trump proposes 25 percent bump in nuke spending, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 10, 2020
• Trump seeks $46 billion for nuclear weapons programs in budget request, Defense News, Feb 10, 2020
• Trump to request 20 percent boost in nuclear spending, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan 30, 2020
• An Unanswered Question at the Heart of the U.S.’s Nuclear Arsenal, Scientific American, Jan 28, 2020
• Lawmakers assured review of nuclear weapons work to be open, Associated Press, Jan 22, 2020
• NNSA Chief Details Uphill Slog to Nuclear Modernization, Air Force Magazine, Jan 16, 2020

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