10 U.S.C. § 6119: Nuclear test ban readiness…

§6119 Nuclear Test Ban Readiness Program

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART VI — ELEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND OTHER MATTERS › Subpart B — Atomic Energy Defense › CHAPTER 602 — NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE MATTERS › SUBCHAPTER I — STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP AND WEAPONS PRODUCTION › § 6119

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must create and run a program to make sure the United States can keep its existing nuclear weapon designs safe, reliable, and a useful deterrent if the United States and the Russian Federation negotiate and ratify a low-threshold or comprehensive ban on nuclear explosives testing. The program must keep up strong stockpile inspections and non-explosive testing to find problems, make sure the materials, parts, processes, and trained people needed to remake or swap warheads are available, and support research so the country keeps technical knowledge about weapons design and effects. The Department of Defense, the weapons production sites, and the national security labs must take part.

Title 10, §6119

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment of Program.—

The Secretary of Energy shall establish and support a program to assure that the United States is in a position to maintain the reliability, safety, and continued deterrent effect of its stockpile of existing nuclear weapons designs in the event that a low-threshold or comprehensive ban on nuclear explosives testing is negotiated and ratified within the framework agreed to by the United States and the Russian Federation.

(b)Purposes of Program.—

The purposes of the program under subsection (a) shall be the following:

(1)To assure that the United States maintains a vigorous program of stockpile inspection and non-explosive testing so that, if a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban is entered into, the United States remains able to detect and identify potential problems in stockpile reliability and safety in existing designs of nuclear weapons.

(2)To assure that the specific materials, components, processes, and personnel needed for the remanufacture of existing nuclear weapons or the substitution of alternative nuclear warheads are available to support such remanufacture or substitution if such action becomes necessary in order to satisfy reliability and safety requirements under a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban agreement.

(3)To assure that a vigorous program of research in areas related to nuclear weapons science and engineering is supported so that, if a low-threshold or comprehensive test ban agreement is entered into, the United States is able to maintain a base of technical knowledge about nuclear weapons design and nuclear weapons effects.

(c)Conduct of Program.—

The Secretary of Energy shall carry out the program provided for in subsection (a). The program shall be carried out with the participation of representatives of the Department of Defense, the nuclear weapons production facilities, and the national security laboratories.

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2527 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(b)(1).

§6119 Nuclear Test Ban Readiness Program

Summary

Title 10, §6119

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Citations & Metadata