Manufacturer catalog

Pantex Plant

Pantex Plant is the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration site near Amarillo, Texas, responsible for nuclear-weapon assembly, disassembly, life-extension, modification, surveillance, high-explosives work, and related stockpile-support production. The plant began as a World War II ordnance facility and, since the Cold War consolidation of U.S. nuclear weapons work, has served as the primary final assembly and life-extension center for U.S. nuclear weapons.

2 weapons

Pantex occupies a large, controlled site in Carson County near Amarillo and functions as the final integration point for work performed across the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise. Official DOE and NNSA material describes the plant's work as supporting life-extension programs, dismantlement, high-explosive component development and fabrication, interim plutonium-pit storage, and stockpile surveillance.

For cataloged B61-12 records, Pantex matters because public NNSA, Pantex, Sandia, and DOE sources identify the plant as the location where B61-12 production units and joint test assemblies are assembled or completed. The plant does not operate as a commercial product company; it is a federal nuclear-security production site managed under an NNSA management-and-operating contract.

Nuclear weapon final assemblyNuclear weapon disassembly and dismantlementLife-extension and modification workHigh-explosives development, testing, and fabricationStockpile surveillance and joint test assembly supportInterim storage and surveillance of plutonium pits

Notable Systems

B61-12 Life Extension Program, Nuclear gravity bomb, Munitions

B61-12 Life Extension Program

Nuclear gravity bomb

NNSA says the B61-12 LEP completed its Last Production Unit on December 18, 2024; Pantex announced the completion of the last B61-12 modification and identified Pantex among the enterprise organizations that executed the program.

Sources: NNSA B61-12 completion, Pantex B61-12 LPU
B61-12 Joint Test Assembly, non-nuclear nuclear-gravity-bomb test assembly, Munitions

B61-12 Joint Test Assembly

non-nuclear nuclear-gravity-bomb test assembly

DOE's stockpile overview captions a B61-12 joint test assembly being assembled at Pantex, tying the non-nuclear test article to the plant's stockpile-surveillance and flight-test support role.

Sources: DOE stockpile overview

Manufacturer History

  1. World War II ordnance operations begin

    Pantex history states that operations began on September 17, 1942 at the Pantex Ordnance Plant east of Amarillo, where wartime production later totaled nearly four million conventional bombs and artillery shells.

    Sources: Pantex history

  2. Federal government reclaims the site for nuclear weapons work

    Pantex says the federal government reclaimed the land and facilities in 1951 and began rebuilding the site as a cornerstone of the nuclear weapons complex.

    Sources: Pantex history

  3. Primary assembly and life-extension role consolidates at Pantex

    Pantex's official history says that since 1975 the plant has been the nation's primary assembly, disassembly, retrofit, and modification center for nuclear weapons.

    Sources: Pantex history

  4. PanTeXas Deterrence begins management-and-operating contract

    DOE contract material lists PanTeXas Deterrence, LLC as the operator of Pantex for a basic term beginning November 1, 2024 and ending October 31, 2029.

    Sources: DOE Pantex contract, PanTeXas Deterrence

  5. B61-12 Last Production Unit completed

    NNSA reported that the B61-12 Life Extension Program completed its Last Production Unit on December 18, 2024, and Sandia later noted that the nuclear gravity bomb's last production unit was completed at Pantex.

    Sources: NNSA B61-12 completion, Sandia B61-12 sustainment

Predecessors
Pantex Ordnance Plant
Website links
Official Pantex websitePantex historyPantex Plant contractPanTeXas Deterrence

Pantex is a federal nuclear-security production site rather than a commercial product manufacturer. Public sources describe program roles and plant missions at a high level; sensitive weapon-design and production details are intentionally not public.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Pantex official websitePublisher: Pantex Plant | Note: Supports Pantex's current public mission statement and official website identity. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Pantex historyPublisher: Pantex Plant | Note: Supports the 1942 ordnance origin, 1951 federal reclamation, 1975 consolidation of primary assembly and modification responsibilities, and current life-extension and surveillance role. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • DOE Pantex contractPublisher: U.S. Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports Pantex's NNSA mission areas, management by PanTeXas Deterrence, contract number 89233224CNA000004, and November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2029 basic term. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • PanTeXas DeterrencePublisher: Pantex Plant | Note: Supports the current management-and-operating contractor, joint-venture members, Carson County location, and Pantex stockpile mission. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NNSA B61-12 completionPublisher: National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports the B61-12 LEP Last Production Unit date, the LEP's purpose, and Pantex's role among the NNSA enterprise organizations involved in design, development, qualification, and component production. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Pantex B61-12 LPUPublisher: Pantex Plant | Note: Supports Pantex's announcement of the last B61-12 modification production unit and public statements about the plant's primary assembly, disassembly, and life-extension role. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • DOE stockpile overviewPublisher: U.S. Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports Pantex assembly of a B61-12 joint test assembly and NNSA stockpile-management context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Sandia B61-12 sustainmentPublisher: Sandia National Laboratories | Note: Supports the completion of the B61-12 last production unit at Pantex and the transition from production into sustainment. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • LANL Pantex overviewPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports Pantex's role as an integration point for nuclear-security-enterprise work, including assembly, disassembly, modification, high-explosives work, plutonium-pit surveillance, and interaction with the design laboratories. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

2/2
B61-12 Joint Test Assembly, non-nuclear nuclear-gravity-bomb test assembly, MunitionsB61-12 Joint Test Assemblynon-nuclear nuclear-gravity-bomb test assemblyBuilt in: United StatesThe B61-12 Joint Test Assembly is a U.S. non-nuclear test article that represents the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb for flight testing, certification, and stockpile surveillance. Sandia, NNSA, and Air Force reporting document B-2A and F-35A JTA releases at Tonopah Test Range, including telemetry checks, operationally realistic flight envelopes, and annual surveillance work after B61-12 production moved into sustainment.