Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times
South Korea and the United States have agreed to form a joint venture to help the American ally secure enriched uranium fuel for its nuclear power plants, President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday… “When I told him that we imported about 30 percent of our enriched uranium fuel from Russia, President Trump talked about making a big profit by producing it on our own and suggested a partnership,” Mr. Lee said. “So we agreed to a 50-50 joint venture.”
Bloomberg News
India will pay about $2 billion to lease a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia, according to people familiar with the matter, finalizing delivery of the vessel after roughly a decade of talks just as President Vladimir Putin makes a visit to New Delhi this week… India expects to take delivery of the vessel within two years, although the complexity of the project means it could be later, they said.
Kenneth Chang | The New York Times
The launchpad Russia uses for sending astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station is out of commission after a mishap last week during the liftoff of a Soyuz rocket. The rocket itself headed to space without incident, taking three astronauts — Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev of Russia and Chris Williams of NASA — to the space station. But the force of the rocket’s exhaust shoved a service platform used for prelaunch preparations out of its protective shelter. The platform fell into the flame trench below.
Ashley Roque | Breaking Defense
The Missile Defense Agency today announced it has tapped hundreds of companies to supply tech for the Golden Dome initiative, though only those who receive orders later will get a piece of a prize pool worth up to $151 billion… After receiving 2,463 offers for the “first phase” of the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) contracting vehicle, the agency named 1,014 “qualifying offerors” eligible for staggered awards to be doled out via separate orders.
Amir Vahdat | AP News
Iran’s rial currency fell Wednesday to a new low of 1.2 million to the U.S. dollar as nuclear sanctions squeeze Tehran’s ailing economy… The new record low is increasing pressure on food prices and other costs have been making daily life that much more challenging for Iranians… Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel — as well as potentially the United States — after June’s 12-day war.
Timonthy Gardner | Reuters
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it will provide up to $800 million to support development of small modular reactors by the Tennessee Valley Authority and private company Holtec. The Trump administration and nuclear companies believe SMRs will help supply electricity to the U.S. where power demand is rising for the first time in two decades on artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining and electric vehicles.