Manufacturing for national security
From coast to coast, specialized parts, technology, and strategic materials help make the world safer.
- The NSS staff
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s labs, plants, and sites work together and with industry partners to produce America’s nuclear weapons and other technology with national security applications. Here’s a high-level look at where some items are manufactured. ★
Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Detonators
- Graphite molds
- Heat sources
- Isotopes
- Magnets
- Nonnuclear weapons components
- Plutonium pits
- Prototypes
- Space instruments
- Targets
Kansas City National Security Campus
- Nonnuclear weapons components, including:
- fiber optics
- firing systems
- gas transfer systems
- polymers
- radar systems
Pantex Plant
Sandia National Laboratories
- Electronics
- Neutron generators
Savannah River Site
- Plutonium pits (future)
Y-12 National Security Complex
Enterprise assistance:
Holston Army Ammunition Plant
Tennessee Valley Authority
*For a deeper dive into the nuclear security enterprise—the National Nuclear Security Administration’s network of labs, plants, and sites—see the spring 2023 issue of this magazine.
