U.S. Pushes Forward with Controversial Nuclear Modernization Efforts

Despite Delays and Safety Concerns, Production of New Plutonium Pits Continues

The U.S. is modernizing its nuclear arsenal, making upgrades to old weapons and building new ones, including updated missiles, a new weapon design, alterations to existing designs and new plutonium pits.
The National Nuclear Security Administration has enacted a controversial plan to produce 50 new pits a year at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and 30 pits a year at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Plutonium pit production has been controversial due to its cost, potential risk, and because the existing pits might still work for a while.
Los Alamos's efforts are at least a year behind schedule, and Savannah River's are more like five years delayed.
Despite safety concerns and delays, the U.S. continues to push forward with its nuclear modernization efforts, citing the need to maintain its nuclear arsenal in the face of growing nuclear capabilities from China and Russia.