Senator Fischer Questions NNSA Official on B61-13 Bomb Production and Nuclear Modernization

B61-13 Production Lessons Learned

• 💡 The B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb was delivered ahead of schedule due to clear collaboration between the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy/NNSA.
• 🚀 Lessons learned from the B61-12 production were applied to the B61-13, allowing for efficient transition and maximum use of established production capabilities.
• 🎯 The B61-13 provides an additional capability to address harder and larger targets, filling a need in deterrence.

Accelerating Weapons Production

• ⚡ NNSA has a long-standing program to enhance stockpile responsiveness across all stages of production.
• 🧠 Efforts are underway to create a more focused office for identifying new and novel ways to bring options to the president and warfighters.

Enterprise Blueprint and Infrastructure

• 🏗️ The enterprise blueprint outlines plans for recapitalizing major infrastructure projects over the next 25 years, including replacing facilities dating back to the Manhattan Project.
• ✅ The blueprint's careful sequencing ensures new facilities come online as needed to support nuclear weapons production.
• 📈 The president's budget strongly supports nuclear modernization, with a good start on executing the earliest phases of the blueprint.

Savannah River Plutonium Facility Update

• 🏭 The Savannah River site is transitioning to a landlord role for the entire site, recognizing the growing need for operations, particularly the plutonium production facility.
• 🗓️ The plutonium production facility is well underway in design, with a target of achieving 90% design threshold in calendar year 2026.
• 🛠️ Parallel efforts include establishing a welding certification facility to ensure a skilled workforce is available when the production facility is ready.
• ⚠️ Constructing major, one-of-a-kind, high-hazard nuclear facilities is difficult and complex, and while progress is being made, more schedule margin is always desired.