The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has released a blueprint outlining its 25-year plan to modernize the Nuclear Security Enterprise, or NSE.
Priorities under the Enterprise Blueprint include investing in the production and science infrastructure supporting weapons design, manufacture, certification and assessment; reestablishing eliminated capabilities; replacing old buildings; and meeting modern safety, security and environmental standards, the NNSA said Tuesday.
The investments will initially focus on sustaining the current nuclear stockpile and restoring production capabilities for modernizing weapons, with the NSE scientific base, global security and naval nuclear propulsion as the next priorities.
U.S. Nuclear Deterrence
The NSE comprises DOE laboratories, the Nevada National Security Site, production plants, and processing facilities involved in the design, production and testing of nuclear weapons. While the enterprise served its purpose during the Manhattan Project, Cold War and post-Cold War eras, the NSE believes assets must be modernized to keep pace with the current geopolitical and technological changes that require increased capability and capacity to maintain the U.S. nuclear deterrence.
According to Jill Hruby, DOE undersecretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA administrator, the blueprint offers a roadmap to meet current and future mission demands and effectively address nuclear security.