New Mexico Operations partners with Sandia Labs on critical secure transportation mission

Recently, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) delivered a pre-production unit (PPU) of the Mobile Guardian Transporter (MGT) rolling chassis to New Mexico Operations (NMO), a division of the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC).

The MGT is the third generation of 18-wheel tractor-trailers that are used to securely transport nuclear materials, special components, and nuclear weapons across the country for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Office of Secure Transportation (OST). Unassuming from the outside, the complex vehicle design incorporates various deterrents to prevent the unauthorized removal of cargo. The trailers are accompanied by armed federal agents trained to protect America’s national security assets.

The rolling chassis delivery is a major milestone for KCNSC’s MGT program. The new MGT trailers are currently being designed and tested with full-rate production set for 2029. NMO has partnered with Sandia on cable design, and hardware testing and development. Additionally, NMO has supported the Design for Manufacturability (DFM).

Jeff Conner, NMO’s Director of Site Operations, said, “We sincerely appreciate our KCNSC, OST, Kansas City Field Office, and Sandia colleagues for helping us celebrate this critical milestone. The PPU rolling chassis delivery was the result of years of hard work and marks the official beginning of production integration at NMO.”

Once delivery of the MGTs is complete, federal agents will use them to safely transport nuclear materials across the country for the NNSA and the U.S. Department of Defense.

To celebrate the site milestone, NMO hosted a small reception for the teams who are assigned to the project. The reception included special guests Kerry Clark, Deputy Assistant Deputy Administrator for OST; Laura McGill, Sandia’s Deputy Labs Director for Nuclear Deterrence; Justine Johannes, Sandia’s Associate Labs Director for Global Security; Jeff Shoulta, Manager of the NNSA Kansas City Field Office; and Eric Wollerman, President of Honeywell FM&T, managing contractor for KCNSC.  

In addition to serving as the production agency for the MGTs, NMO is refurbishing and repairing a fleet of Safeguards Transporters (SGT) semi-trailers. The vault-like SGT vehicles are the predecessor to the MGTs.