Defense Programs
Following the end of the Cold War, the United States ended production programs to develop and produce new nuclear warheads and began a moratorium on nuclear testing. The main focus of the nuclear weapons program during the 1990s shifted to sustaining existing warheads for the indefinite future. To this end, the Department of Energy adopted a science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) that emphasized development and application of greatly improved technical capabilities to assess the safety, security, and reliability of existing nuclear warheads without the use of nuclear testing. As a result of breakthrough science and engineering, planned improvements in the Stockpile Stewardship Program's technical capabilities are progressing well. This progress must be continued, both to maintain the evolving stockpile and to address any new requirements that might arise.
- Directed Stockpile Work
- Science Campaign
- Engineering Campaign
- Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Yield Campaign
- Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign
- Pit Certification and Manufacturing Campaign
- Readiness Campaign
- Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (Operations)
- Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (Construction)
- Secure Transportation Asset
Directed Stockpile Work
Goal
Ensure that the nuclear warheads and bombs in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile are safe, secure, and reliable.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the Department of Defense, national laboratories, and production plants, will conduct routine maintenance and repair; dismantle retired weapons; refurbish warheads through the Life Extension Program; and, maintain the capability to design, manufacture, and certify new warheads, for the foreseeable future.
Science Campaign
Goal
Develop improved capabilities to assess the safety, reliability, and performance of the nuclear package portion of weapons without further underground testing; enhance readiness to conduct underground nuclear testing as directed by the President; and develop essential scientific capabilities and infrastructure.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories and the Nevada Test Site, will develop the Quantification of Margins and Uncertainty (QMU) methodology coupled with advanced radiography capabilities and improved understanding of dynamic material properties to assess with continually improving confidence the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile; and, achieve 18-month underground nuclear test readiness, within the next decade.
Engineering Campaign
Goal
Provide validated models and simulation tools to improve surety technologies, radiation hardening capabilities, microsystems and microtechnologies production, component and material lifetime assessments, and predictive aging models and surveillance diagnostics.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories, will advance material sciences to detect precursors to age-related weapons problems; and, develop new technologies, models, and radiation hardening approaches and components to improve the safety, security, and control of our nuclear weapons, including the construction of the new Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Application facility, within the next decade.
Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Yield Campaign
Goal
Develop laboratory capabilities to create and measure extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and radiation approaching those in a nuclear explosion, and conduct weapons-related research in these environments.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories, the Naval Research Laboratory, General Atomics, Inc., the University of Rochester, and other universities, will conduct high energy density physics experiments necessary to support the SSP. A major goal of this program is the demonstration of ignition at the National Ignition Facility in 2010.
Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign
Goal
Provide leading edge, high-end computer simulation capabilities to meet weapons assessment and certification requirements, including weapon codes, weapon science, platforms, and computer facilities.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories and leading U.S. supercomputer manufacturers, universities and other Federal agencies, will execute multi-year modeling, computer science and engineering-based activities to provide the high-end simulation capabilities and supporting infrastructure needed to meet weapons assessment and certification requirements within the next decade.
To find out more about Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign go to the Advanced Simulation and Computing web site.
Pit Certification and Manufacturing Campaign
Goal
Restore the capability and some limited capacity to manufacture pits of all types required for the nuclear weapons stockpile and plan for a long-term pit manufacturing facility to support the enduring stockpile.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories and production plants, will restore a responsive capability to manufacture and certify replacement plutonium pits for a smaller nuclear weapons stockpile of the future. This includes establishing a limited, interim capacity to manufacture pits at a national laboratory and planning for a long term, responsive infrastructure (e.g., Modern Pit Facility) required in the next two decades.
Readiness Campaign
Goal
Develop or reestablish new manufacturing processes and technologies for qualifying weapon components for reuse.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the production plants and the private sector, will improve the responsiveness of the nuclear weapon manufacturing infrastructure and its technology base to meet emerging threats to national security through continuing investments in state-of-the-art equipment combined with cutting-edge applications of technology.
Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (Operations)
Goal
Operate and maintain NNSA program facilities in a safe, secure, efficient, reliable, and compliant condition.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories and production plants, will operate program facilities including costs for utilities, equipment, facility personnel, training and salaries; conduct a robust maintenance program including staff, tools, and replacement parts; all while ensuring strict adherence to environment, health, and safety regulations to ensure that facilities are operationally ready to perform work.
Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (Construction)
Goal
Plan, prioritize, and construct state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure, and scientific tools (that are not directly attributable to Directed Stockpile Work or a Campaign) within approved baseline cost and schedule.
Means and Strategies
NNSA, in partnership with the national laboratories and production plants, will plan and develop line item construction projects as necessary and within approved guidelines and manage these projects within the approved baseline and schedule.
Secure Transportation Asset
Goal
Safely and securely transport nuclear weapons, weapons components, and special nuclear materials to meet projected DOE, DoD, and other customer requirements.
Means and Strategies
NNSA will provide Federal agents, specialized vehicles, a communications infrastructure, and rigorous training to conduct the safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons, components, and other material of national security interest in support of NNSA and DOE activities.