BWX Technologies (BWXT) has announced that the company’s TRISO nuclear fuel manufacturing restart activities will continue to progress ahead of schedule, BWXT reported on Tuesday.

“BWXT has been working expeditiously to complete our preparations to restart our TRISO line and produce TRISO fuel at scale,” said Joel Duling, president of BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. “I can’t say enough about how well our employees have performed to get us to this stage.”

BWXT has demonstrated the capability to form and sinter uranium oxycarbide (UCO) fuel kernels that serve as a precursor to the TRISO coating process. With the completion of the process, BWXT will focus on introducing two additional furnaces online to meet projected production demand before restart activities are complete.

In Dec. 2019, BWXT produced uranium solutions for TRISO fuel as the company progressed with its previously announced plans to restart its manufacturing line and increase capacity at its Lynchburg, Va. facility.

BWXT will restart its existing TRIstructural-ISOtropic (TRISO fuel) production capability and increase its capacity to position the company to meet emergent client interests in the Department of Defense (DoD) microreactors, space reactors and civil advanced reactors.

TRISO fuel can withstand extreme heat and has very low proliferation concerns and environmental risks. BWXT is the only U.S. company to manufacture irradiation-tested uranium oxycarbide TRISO fuel using production-scale equipment.

BWXT and the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) have partnered in the development and qualification of TRISO-based fuel for more than 15 years, demonstrating and establishing the company’s commercial capability for TRISO fuel manufacturing.

“[Our Employees] have positioned us to finish our restart efforts later this year, even in the face of recent challenges across the globe. The effort and accomplishment is truly phenomenal,” added Duling.

About BWXT

At BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong, Innovation Driven. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., BWXT provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for national security, clean energy, environmental remediation, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With approximately 6,600 employees, BWXT has 12 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities.

Andrew Dugan, chief technology officer (CTO) at CenturyLink, and Jonathan Spalter, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of USTelecom, will speak on the COVID-19 Network Performance – Designed for Demand, a virtual conversation with to discuss the shifts in network performance due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The discussion will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 2 p.m. (ET). The speakers will focus on the increase of network traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As network providers strive to manage the influx, the webinar will discuss how organizations can mitigate disruption to network applications.

In addition, attendees will learn how the networks and technologies supporting public and private sectors, as well as civilians, are designed, engineered and managed to accommodate COVID-19 usage changes, so providers can continue to connect, work and learn while at home.

As CTO of CenturyLink, Dugan is responsible for the development, integration and deployment of CenturyLink’s global network supporting Consumer, Wholesale, Government and Enterprise markets.

Dugan is a veteran technology executive with more than 30 years of experience in building telecommunications networks, switching platforms and services platforms. Prior to his CTO role, he served as CenturyLink senior vice president of technology planning, network architecture and security.

Since Jan. 2017, Spalter has been president and CEO of USTelecom, the broadband association, representing technology innovators connecting families, communities and enterprises to the future.

Prior to joining USTelecom, Spalter served as founding chair of Mobile Future, the national wireless technology association. He has a proven track record leading innovative technology companies and policy organizations in the U.S., Asia/Pacific, and Europe and has also held leadership positions in the executive branch of government.

About CenturyLink 

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is a technology leader delivering hybrid networking, cloud connectivity, and security solutions to customers around the world. Through its extensive global fiber network, CenturyLink provides secure and reliable services to meet the growing digital demands of businesses and consumers. CenturyLink strives to be the trusted connection to the networked world and is focused on delivering technology that enhances the customer experience.

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday approved Ligado’s application to use the L-band spectrum to field a low-power terrestrial network in support of 5G and internet-of-things services.

“I thank my colleagues for coming together on a bipartisan basis to support Ligado’s application,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement published Monday. “This vote is another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.”

The FCC approval comes with several conditions, including a requirement for Ligado to reduce by 99.3 percent its proposed power levels of its base stations to 9.8 decibell watt, safeguard GPS and other adjacent band incumbents through base station location reporting and provide 23-megahertz guard band to separate from adjacent operations in the Radionavigation-Satellite Service allocation its terrestrial base station transmissions.

SpaceNews reported Defense Secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient Mark Esper expressed opposition to the FCC approval. The Pentagon “continues to support domestic 5G options, but not at the risk of crippling our GPS networks. Nearly a dozen other federal agencies have joined us in opposing this proposal,” he said on Twitter.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

James “Hondo” Geurts, assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition at the U.S. Navy and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said the service branch has used its supply chain management platforms to track where factory shutdown or delays could occur as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, FedScoop reported Monday.

Geurts said the use of such systems has helped the Navy identify areas where production could be increased to protect its supply lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This impacts us in many different ways,” Geurts said during a virtual Sea-Air-Space event. “This data knowledge lets us make smart, adaptive decisions.”

The Navy uses the Enterprise Resource Planning system and other supply chain management platforms that have been moved to the cloud.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense and a 2020 Wash100 Awardee, said aircraft manufacturers and other U.S. defense contractors depend on parts suppliers in Mexico and DoD will call for the country to reopen such facilities that have shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Defense One reported Monday.

“I think one of the key things we have found out are some international dependencies,” she said Monday during a press conference at the Pentagon. “Mexico right now is somewhat problematical for us but we’re working through our embassy, and then there are pockets in India, as well.”

Lord said she spoke last week to Christopher Landau, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, about the supply issues and would write to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign secretary, “to ask for help to reopen international suppliers” in the country.

“We are seeing impacts on the industrial base by several pockets of closure internationally,” she added.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

The Department of the Navy has begun efforts to implement the development, security and operations or DevSecOps approach in the U.S. Marine Corps’ software development activities.

The Operational Application and Service Innovation Site, part of Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, began efforts to help USMC apply the methodology that takes security into focus across development, DON said Friday.

“The Department of the Navy has to become a software company with warfighters, because countless software-based battlefield missions can immediately benefit from the DevSecOps approach, making the future of OASIS critically relevant to operations in the information environment,” said Peter Reddy, executive director at NIWC Atlantic.

DON based OASIS on the U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run team that has been using DevSecOps to transform USAF software development.

DevSecOps allows for faster development through the use of automation technologies. For example, an artificial intelligence platform would report situational data and quantitative aspects of software being developed.

“By not focusing on a single pipeline, or single platform, OASIS is giving technology professionals the power of the latest mainstream tools, coupled with the power of choice,” said Jeff Hays, an enterprise engineering team lead at NIWC Atlantic.