August 30, 2005

The National Nuclear Security Administration's Refurbishment of the B61

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is at risk of Project Schedule, not achieving the First Production Unit (FPU) for the B61 Scope, and Cost refurbishment within the original schedule and scope specifications. NNSA was unable to reuse a key material in the refurbishment which, in turn, delayed the design and testing of key components and increased costs for research and development of a substitute material. NNSA also experienced other delays that, in our opinion, were avoidable. Specifically, we found that: • Completion of a key component milestone was delayed at least 13 months due to inconsistencies in participating sites' production schedules and, • Delivery of key production equipment was delayed as much as 9 months due to the failure of project officials to agree on the delivery schedule and problems with a commercial vendor. In addition, NNSA reduced the project scope by eliminating testing against certain physical environments and had not developed a valid cost baseline to control costs.