CAPS Nuclear Tracker - Issue XI: January - March 2024 2024 began well for the nuclear energy sector. In China, the first Generation IV demonstration

The test of the hypersonic weapon, officially called the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air- launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), was conducted at the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, almost 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometres) to the east of Guam. [...] The administration did not request any funding for the nuclear SLCM in 2023 or 2024 because it assessed that the weapon has only “marginal utility” and would “impede investment in other priorities.” But, for the second consecutive year, Congress overrode the Pentagon’s decision due to a majority of lawmakers viewing the SLCM as critical in the current nuclear environment. [...] According to the French Economy Ministry, France and Bulgaria, as members of the European Nuclear Alliance, underscore the crucial significance of nuclear energy in attaining the European Union’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, as well as in enhancing energy security and sovereignty. [...] As per Edward Mayaka, the Director for Partnerships and Public Awareness at the Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the country is poised to fully embrace nuclear applications as it prepares for the establishment of its inaugural nuclear power plant by the year 2035. [...] This has highlighted the dangers present to the nuclear security of the power plant during the conflict.