This troubled, covert agency is responsible for trucking nuclear bombs across America each day

This troubled, covert agency is responsible for trucking nuclear bombs across America each day

By RALPH VARTABEDIAN and W.J. HENNIGAN

MAR 10, 2017 | 3:00 AM

   

The tractor-trailers the government uses to haul nuclear weapons, components, plutonium and highly enriched uranium on the nation s highways each day look much like commercial Peterbilt 18-wheelers. (Office of Secure Transportation / National Nuclear Security Admin)

The unmarked 18-wheelers ply the nation's interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs.

The covert fleet, which shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office of Secure Transportation, a troubled agency within the U.S. Department of Energy so cloaked in secrecy that few people outside the government know it exists.

The $237-million-a-year agency operates a fleet of 42 tractor-trailers, staffed by highly armed couriers, many of them veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, responsible for making sure nuclear weapons and components pass through foggy mountain passes and urban traffic jams without incident.

The transportation office is about to become more crucial than ever as the U.S. embarks on a $1-trillion upgrade of the nuclear arsenal that will require thousands of additional warhead shipments over the next 15 years.

With America’s help, Saudi Arabia is moving to become a nuclear power

With America’s help, Saudi Arabia is moving to become a nuclear power

US may open path for Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons.

by ALEX CHRISTOFOROU

February 23, 2018, 17:31

Saudi Arabia may very well the next Middle East country with nuclear power.

The Kingdom is set to strike a deal with the United States for the purchase of nuclear reactors, despite concerns over Saudi refusal to accept restrictions against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, who is the de facto ruler of the country, has ambitious plans to diversify the country’s energy source and is in the market to purchase nuclear power reactors. The potential for lucrative deals is too good to be missed and the Trump administration is thought to be mulling over loosening US law to win Saudi contracts, worth billions. The Kingdom has refused to be bound by stringent US regulations that restrict reprocessing and enriching uranium for the production of nuclear weapons.

With competitors like Russia and China waiting in the wings, Trump is keen to strike a deal with the Saudi’s and breathe new life into the American nuclear industry.