President Joe Biden’s newly confirmed secretary of defense at a hearing this week did not decisively back the National Nuclear Security Administration’s proposed two-site plutonium pit production mission, which, if executed, would dramatically elevate the profile of the Savannah River Site. Lloyd Austin, a retired Army general who at one point ran U.S. Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle East, instead promised a review of the nation’s nuclear modernization programs, “including the country’s capacity to produce plutonium pits” and other components.
Post & Courier 22nd Jan 2021 read more »