As president Donald trump plan to modernize and expand their Unites States Nuclear Program, the outgoing head of America’s nuclear warhead agency is warning that his agency is stretched as far as it can go. Frank Klotz who retired from NNSA told that we are pretty much capacity in terms of people although we are hiring more. We are
pretty much capacity in terms of the materials that we need to do this work and pretty much capacity in terms of hours in the day interview with defense news .
In an exclusive exit interview, Frank Klotz, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration or NNSA, who retired Jan. 19, told Defense News that his office is stretched as far as it can go — a notable statement, as a leaked draft of the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review appears to set the course for the NNSA to launch another nuclear warhead modification project.
The NNSA is a semiautonomous office of the Department of Energy that has oversight for the U.S. nuclear warhead stockpile. While the Pentagon is in charge of the delivery systems for nuclear weapons, the NNSA handles the development and safety of the warheads.
A leaked draft of the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review calls for modernizing or newly creating low-yield nuclear warheads, specifically for submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Klotz declined to directly address anything in the leaked NPR draft, in deference to the fact the final version is not yet public. But when asked about his full capacity comments in light of the draft’s plan to add yet another warhead modification to his schedule, the retired general did not back away.
There have been several other proposals floated for new or different strategies to do warhead modernization, including the possibility of merging warhead projects to find commonality between the Air Force’s new intercontinental ballistic missile, dubbed the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, and the Navy’s Trident SLBM.
“There is merit in looking for areas in which we can achieve some commonality, whether it’s the warhead or whether it’s the missile or it’s the missile guidance systems or fire-control system. Whatever it may be. It only makes sense,” Klotz said.
But the outgoing administrator stressed that just because something is technically feasible doesn’t mean one can simply flip a switch and begin production.
“When you get down into how you’re going to pay for it, how are you going to schedule it into the work, what’s the impact going to be on the other work that’s being done? Those are the things you have to think about,” he said.
