Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Should Evaluate the Role of the Enhanced Surveillance Program in Assessing the Condition of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile

Abstract

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) did not fully implement the Enhanced Surveillance Program as envisioned in the agency's 2007 Surveillance Transformation Project (2007 initiative) and has not developed a long-term strategy for the program. Surveillance is the process of inspecting a weapon through various tests of the weapon as a whole, the weapon's components, and the weapon's materials to determine whether they are meeting performance expectations, through dismantling the weapon or through the use of diagnostic tools. As called for in its 2007 initiative, NNSA took steps to improve the management of the overall surveillance program, which primarily tests dismantled weapons and their components, but the agency did not increase the role of the Enhanced Surveillance Program, as envisioned. The program develops computational models to predict the impact of stockpile aging; identifies aging signs; and develops diagnostic tools. Under the 2007 initiative, NNSA was to conduct more Enhanced Surveillance Program evaluations using computer models to predict the impacts of aging on specific weapon componentsespecially nonnuclear components and materialsand to assess the validity of more diagnostic tools. Instead of expanding the program's role, NNSA reduced program funding by more than 50 percent from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2015. NNSA also delayed some key activities and reduced the program's scope during this time. For example, NNSA did not complete its proposed evaluations of the impact of aging on nonnuclear components and materials. These evaluations, originally estimated to be completed by 2012, were dropped as program goals in fiscal year 2016, according to NNSA officials and contractor representatives.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1173762

Entities

People

  • David C. Trimble

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accountability
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electronic Mail
  • Engineering
  • Explosives
  • Flight Testing
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Materials
  • National Security
  • New Mexico
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Security
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

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