Department of Energy FY 2012 Congressional ... - The FIRE Place

This enterprise would help assure political and military decision makers that flexible intellectual and
infrastructure capabilities are available to respond to technological surprise and provide innovative
solutions to complex technical problems faced by agencies across the Federal government. To address
these national security challenges beyond the nuclear stockpile, the administration is committed to both
retaining and nurturing national security R&D capabilities that serve broader national security interests.
Annual Performance Results and Targets
The Department is in the process of updating its strategic plan, and has been actively engaging
stakeholders including Congress. The draft strategic plan is being released for public comment
concurrent with this budget submission, with the expectation of official publication this spring. The
draft plan and FY 2012 budget are consistent and aligned. Updated measures will be released at a later
date and available at the following link http://www.mbe.doe.gov/budget/12budget/index.htm.
FY 2010 Accomplishments
The $30,000,000 provided by Congress in the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009, and $20,000,000
authorized in FY 2011 initiated more robust strategic partnerships between the three NNSA national
security laboratories and entities within the greater national security arena, specifically the intelligence
community and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The enhanced capabilities developed
through the FY 2009 funds for the U.S. stockpile, informed by intelligence requirements, are the initial
building block in significantly improving the response to national security questions, and will, at the
same time, help sustain the critical skills vital to the NNSA mission into the future. The work with
DTRA embodies the goal of transforming the NNSA science and technology enterprise into the resource
of choice for solving large, time-urgent national security challenges. The associated plan outlines the
technical and programmatic framework to share investments with DTRA in common efforts to address
national security needs related to counterterrorism, survivability, and weapon effects. Progress to date
includes:
Drafted plan for transitioning technical analyses of foreign nuclear weapons to modern simulation
tools, including modern baselines;
Completed design and development of an advanced low inductance power flow for an explosive
pulsed power generator (Mini-G);
Model and algorithm enhancements to stockpile simulation tools for wider national security
applications, and
Experiments on the National Ignition Facility, Saturn, and Z facilities to advance the abilities to test
and characterize strategic systems, materials and components to nuclear weapon environments.
Major Outyear Priorities and Assumptions
The outyear projections for NSA total $80,000,000 for FY 2013 through FY 2016. The funding will
support interagency initiatives that apply and develop the science, technology and engineering
capabilities of the national security laboratories. These activities enable more robust strategic
partnerships between the three NNSA national security laboratories and entities within the greater
national security arena. The enhanced capabilities developed through these partnerships will ensure the
long-term availability and relevance of NNSA support to national security questions, and will, at the
same time help sustain the critical staffing skills vital to the NNSA mission into the future. The NNSA
will also continue to evaluate support for activities and projects with the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence.
Weapons Activities/
National Security Applications Page 312
FY 2012 Congressional Budget