January 13, 2015 Dr. Andrew Weston-Dawkes Director Office of Classification Department of Energy Dear Dr. Weston-Dawkes: This is a proposal for declassification pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 1045.20 regarding information classified under the Atomic Energy Act. We request that the Department of Energy (and the Department of Defense) authorize the declassification of the total annual U.S. warhead "build rate" from 1962 onwards. The Department has previously declassified and published the annual warhead build rate from 1945 through 1961, as presented here: https://www.osti.gov/opennet/forms.jsp?formurl=document/press/pc26tab1.html (Partial build numbers through 1986 were also released, but only for weapons that were already retired. We are requesting release of total annual build numbers from 1962 onwards.) The proposed declassification would enrich public understanding of the historical development of the U.S. stockpile. Disclosure of the actual build rate per year would add a dimension to the cold war historical narrative and bolster transparency in nuclear policy. There is no obvious policy barrier to declassification, since similar information (through 1961) has previously been disclosed. Moreover, given that the total size of the stockpile has been declassified, the original sensitivity of the annual build rate has now diminished, we believe, to zero. We therefore request that the Department consider declassifying this information, as provided in 10 C.F.R. 1045.20. Thank you for your consideration. Steven Aftergood Project on Government Secrecy Federation of American Scientists 1725 DeSales Street NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 email: [email protected] voice: (202)454-4691