Pantex Reaches Milestone with W88 Alt 370 Success Signals Readiness to Ramp up Production

April 27, 2020 Media Contact: Steve Myers For Immediate Release Office: 806.573.6032

Pantex Reaches Milestone with W88 Alt 370 Success signals readiness to ramp up production

AMARILLO, Texas-- Pantex, operated by Consolidated Nuclear Security, has announced the successful assembly of the W88 Alt 370 First Production Capability Unit (FPCU).

The W88 nuclear warhead, designed by the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, entered the stockpile in late 1988 and is deployed on the Navy’s Trident II D5 Submarine- Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) system on Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The W88 Alteration (Alt) 370 program includes numerous updates to address aging, enhance nuclear safety, and support future life extension program options.

The FPCU, an important milestone, allows Pantex staff to exercise processes to ensure readiness for rate production. This achievement was accomplished ahead of schedule through outstanding teamwork from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Kansas City Nuclear Security Campus, and Consolidated Nuclear Security.

“Reaching this milestone required tremendous effort from Pantex employees at all levels, collaboration from thousands of workers at NSE sites across the country, and a close working relationship with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),” Pantex site manager Todd Ailes remarked. “The success of this program has required high standards of safety, security, and quality from all involved. I commend everyone involved for their contributions.”

The W88 Alt 370 team will incorporate these results and will exercise this process again prior to the start of the First Production Unit. NNSA is prepared to ramp up productions operations in support of the warhead program.

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Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the absolute priorities of safety, security, quality, mission delivery and cost efficiency.

For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex and Y-12 on Facebook and Twitter.