Defense Programs

Part of the Manhattan Project, Y‑12 was built to produce enriched uranium for the first nuclear weapon, which brought an end to World War II. Portions of every weapon in the U.S. nuclear stockpile have been manufactured at Y‑12. Today we focus our expertise in three key areas:

• Manufacturing Excellence — We manufacture complex components to extremely high levels of precision and have the world class technology and expertise to accurately measure component quality.
• Secure Storage — As the “Fort Knox” for highly enriched uranium, we oversee the secure management and storage of special nuclear materials as weapons are retired from the national stockpile or returned for dismantlement under strategic arms reduction treaties.
• Stockpile Stewardship and Management — Our science‑based stockpile stewardship helps ensure a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent through assessment, surveillance, refurbishment, and dismantlement — all without underground nuclear testing.

Preparing for the Future — The Y-12 Infrastructure Reduction program was formed to help prepare Y-12 for modernization through extensive reuse of existing facilities, construction of necessary new facilities, and removal of infrastructure not required to accomplish missions.

Product Return Approval — The Purpose of the Product Return Liaison approval process is to ensure receipts of Defense Program–related materials and returned empty nuclear materials containers meet Y‑12 acceptance criteria. It also ensures Y‑12 has the current processing and storage capacity to receive the materials.