Launch of NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration — LCRD Officia...Cape Canaveral Space Force Station - One of the other payloads is for the National Nuclear Security Administration

Navy Set to Deploy New Low-Yield Warhead, Enhance Deterrence

In the next few months, the US Navy will likely begin deployment of a new low-yield nuclear warhead on some of its Trident II D5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles.This is in accordance with the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review.The National Nuclear Security Administration has just released a mission logo for the program.It started producing the new W76-2 variant warheads in January 2019.The warhead was designed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory,New Mexico.*
The W76-2 may be detonated either by contact or airburst.The NNSA plans to complete the production run and deliver the warheads to the Navy by late 2019.The Trump Administration perceived a need for additional tailored and flexible capabilities to address the danger of coercive nuclear use by Russia and North Korea.The Nuclear Posture Review said the low-yield warhead would enhance deterrence by denying potential adversaries any mistaken confidence that limited nuclear employment can provide a useful advantage over the United States and its allies.*
The W76-2 will not add to the number of deployed SLBM warheads; but replace some of the high-yield warheads already deployed.Russia has wargamed low-yield nuclear weapon use in a regional conflict.So the W76-2 could bolster deterrence by convincing Russia the US could respond with its own proportional, limited attack.*
Putting low-yield weapons on submarines offers improved survivability and penetration because aircraft delivery is vulnerable to an adversary's​ air defences.*
Russian military doctrine envisions the use of low-yield nuclear weapons in a scenario where Russia is losing a conventional war.*
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Washington) says it is very unlikely Congress will block the program.

Testing of B61 Upgrade Continues in Nevada on B-2 Bombers - NATO nuclear deterrent

On 9 June 2018,an upgrade of the B61 guided nuclear gravity bomb,the B61-12,was tested on a US Air Force B-2A Spirit bomber at the high security Tonopah Test Range,Nevada.The B61 is stored on NATO bases in Europe under a dual key arrangement.
In the course of the two flight tests,an unarmed B61-12 test assembly was released from the B-2,according to a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) press release.The NNSA,which is part of the Department of Energy,designed the test assembly and the US Air Force provided the Boeing tail assembly.According to BGEN Michael Lutton,NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application:
The flight tests demonstrate the B61-12 design meets system requirements and illustrate the continued progress of the B61-12 life extension program to meet national security requirements.The achievement is also a testament to the dedication of our workforce and the enduring partnership between NNSA and the US Air Force.*
Conducting the tests was the 419th Test and Evaluation Squadron out of  Edwards Air Force Base,California.The tests were the first end-to-end qualification tests on a B-2A Spirit for the B61-12.They were part of a series of joint tests to demonstrate both the aircraft's ability to deliver the weapon and the weapon's non-nuclear functions.The flight tests included hardware designed by the Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory and manufactured by Nuclear Security Enterprise plants.
The B61 LEP will consolidate and replace the existing B61 bomb variants in the Nation's nuclear stockpile.The first production unit is on schedule for completion in fiscal 2020,NNSA said.*
NATO Allies Belgium,Germany,Italy,the Netherlands and Turkey host the current B61 variants on their bases.Panavia PA-200 Tornado IDS (Interdictor/Strike) and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft are the authorised Allied delivery aircraft for these legacy weapons.
Besides the B-2A and the F-16C/D and MLU,another aircraft that can deliver the current B61 variants is the F-15E Strike Eagle.In future,the F-35 Lightning II and B-21 Raider will be able to deliver the B61.*
The B61s are guarded by US Air Force personnel and stored in vaults within hardened Protective Aircraft Shelters on the NATO bases.Their Permissive Action Links,or codes that enable the weapons to be armed,are in US custody.NATO's Nuclear Planning Group oversees the Alliance's nuclear deterrent.The annual NATO nuclear exercise,Steadfast Noon,is held in the autumn.

Low-Flying Helicopters Prepare For Nuclear Emergencies

The National Nuclear Security Administration,or NNSA,a US Department of Energy agency,is actively preparing for an emergency such as a  low level nuclear or radiological attack by terrorists,a so-called dirty bomb,on major urban areas.Special response teams are being trained and equipped for such an eventuality.More obviously,low-flying helicopters have been repeatedly buzzing major urban areas within the past year as they survey background radiation for the Nuclear Emergency Support Team,NEST,a collaboration of NNSA and the Department of Homeland Security.
So that's what it was doing.I observed such a civilian helicopter flying back and forth at a low altitude in the greater Washington,DC area one morning recently.It certainly struck me as peculiar,if not alarming.The twin engine helicopters may fly a grid pattern at an altitude of 300 feet and can cover dozens of square miles for the intensive surveys.
The purpose of the surveys is to improve aerial radiation measurement in order to swiftly detect an incident's exact parameters and respond to it
.A certain amount of radiation occurs naturally or in the course of daily business in urban areas-even in asphalt roadbeds-and in order to find a nuclear debris field,you need to know the radiological lay of the land so you can indentify any anomalies.
Besides Metropolitan Washington,DC,surveys have also been done in the San Francisco Bay Area,the Puget Sound area in Washington state,and the Chicagoland area.
The NNSA also secures National Laboratories where nuclear research is conducted,and transports nuclear materials by road in heavily armed truck convoys.

Naval Officer Had Three Careers

Captain Bradley Alan Peterson,U.S. Navy retired,died on 7 March from a severe brain injury received when the car he was a passenger in was struck by a speeding car in Albuquerque,New Mexico.He was 53. Captain Peterson was a 1980 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.He went on to serve as an officer aboard the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Grayling(SSN 646)and the ballistic missile submarine USS Alaska(SSBN 732).Following active duty,Captain Peterson served as a high-ranking intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.Beginning in 1991,he began his third national security career with the Department of Energy as a nuclear safety engineer.Eventually,Captain Peterson moved into leadership positions in nuclear weapons transport and security with the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration in Albuquerque. He is survived by his mother,two brothers and three children.Following their father's sterling example of service to the nation,his son will graduate from the U.S. Military Academy in June,while his two daughters recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy,respectively.