DOD and DOE officials who comprise the Nuclear Weapons Council have decided that the reliable replacement warhead program—an effort to determine the feasibility and advisability of developing a warhead to replace those in the existing stockpile—would not need underground testing. The NWC believes that proceeding with an RRW program will “ensure the long-term reliability of the stockpile and enable us to establish a safer and more secure nuclear deterrent.” According to an NRC statement, the RRW would also enable the US to reduce the size of its stockpile “by increasing confidence in the infrastructure to produce weapons.” The NWC still has to choose a preferred design from the two submitted by the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs. And, Congress has to approve any decision to move into development.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.