KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The Air Force Safety Center Weapons Safety Division recently hosted over 80 weapons safety experts from across the Air Force, including industry and government partners, for a three-day rewrite of the Department of the Air Force Manual 91-119, "Safety Design Criteria for Nuclear Weapons Systems Software."
DAFMAN 91-119 promotes the integration of nuclear safety into nuclear weapon system software development and sustainment processes and disciplines. It is published by AFSEC as part of the Department of Defense’s service requirement to establish a nuclear weapon system safety certification program to ensure that nuclear weapon systems are designed, built and used in a manner in which the equipment will not impose abnormal environments, inadvertently provide unintended signals or aid in providing unauthorized signals to the weapon.
This rewrite is intended to evolve and enhance safety design criteria, while also giving acquisition programs flexibility for development and providing operational commanders and warfighters the tools, information and authorities to make informed decisions.
Col. Andrew Lazar, chief of AFSEC Weapons Safety Division, reminded stakeholders the importance of this rewrite and how it nests with DoD nuclear surety policy.
“The Weapons Safety team is here to help your system get to the warfighter, and in compliance with Department of Defense standards, without slowing you down,” said Lazar. “We recognize there’s a lot of changes coming to the Air Force, and with your input, we are making adjustments to meet those changes.”
AFSEC’s Weapons Safety Division has been continuously working with stakeholders across the nuclear enterprise to solicit direct feedback on how to improve guidance.
“The best feedback we receive is directly from system program offices because they have to implement the guidance in their certification efforts, both for acquisition and sustainment,” Lazar said. “Obtaining feedback through policy rewrite conferences allows us to update our guidance deliberately and ensure it is effective, efficient, and meets the intent of DoD requirements.”
Amid the DoD’s biggest nuclear modernization and sustainment effort in decades, this and other policy updates are intended to keep up with emerging technology, cyber requirements and evolving DoD standards. This rewrite is also part of a broader effort DAF Safety is leading, intended to give senior leaders and commanders the most accurate and timely nuclear surety assessment of the service so resources, policies, and advocacy can be pushed where they are most needed.
As the DAF’s delegated authority to ensure the safety and surety of nuclear weapons systems, the Weapons Safety Division works with multiple service and interagency partners to maintain compliance with DoD nuclear surety standards. In coordination with the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, AFSEC develops guidance, assesses compliance and ultimately provides nuclear safety design certification for nuclear weapons systems hardware and software.
“With this rewrite, we are producing the best possible product for the Air Force,” said Jeffrey Janert, DAF chief of Nuclear Weapons Safety. “When we’re done with this rewrite, we should be able to say the needs of the Air Force were met.”
The updated DAFMAN 91-119 is expected to be published later this year.