Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.[1][2] The facility is named for its location in the Panhandle of Texas on a 16,000-acre (25 sq mi; 65 km2) site 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas. The plant is managed and operated for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) by Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and Sandia National Laboratories. CNS is composed of member companies Bechtel, Leidos, Orbital ATK, and SOC, with Booz Allen Hamilton as a teaming subcontractor.[3] CNS also operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, a manufacturing facility for nuclear weapons components.[3]
As a major national security site, the plant and its grounds are strictly controlled, and the airspace above and around the plant is prohibited to civilian air traffic by the FAA as Prohibited Area P-47.
- ^ Gross, Daniel A. (2016). "An Aging Army". Distillations. 2 (1): 26–36. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ "About Pantex Plant". www.pantex.com.
- ^ a b "About". CNS – Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC. Retrieved 2017-09-09.