Sandia and KCNSC co-host the 2025 Production Integration Summit

In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year, Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, issued a concise statement applicable to all national security work in the face of a rapidly evolving global threat dynamic:

“The coin of the realm in the 21st century is speed. Who does things faster wins.”

This statement resonates throughout nuclear security enterprise design and production agencies, including Sandia, where speed and efficiency are valuable byproducts of strong partnership.

The 2025 Production Integration Summit, hosted by Sandia in partnership with the Kansas City National Security Campus, marked a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to further enhance production integration and collaboration across the enterprise.

Ahead of emerging threat

In his opening remarks for the third Summit over the past five years, Steve Girrens, associate Laboratories director for Nuclear Deterrence Components and Production, laid out the overarching goal for the event.

“We’re gathered here to accelerate product realization and improve production capability responsiveness and resilience,” he said.

This year’s summit convened experts, stakeholders and leaders from across the enterprise to do that by evaluating focus area activities, exploring emerging opportunities and threats and validating priorities for future initiatives. With a focus on perceived value to production, the summit aimed to foster collaboration and innovation amid evolving challenges, including manufacturing capacity constraints.

Rob McKay, director of the NNSA Office of Stockpile Modernization, said, “There are emerging threats where we can foresee advancements in technology for which we can — and must — keep pace.”

Combining initiatives, improving efficiencies

Evoking a key theme of partnership, McKay asked attendees early in the event, “How can we better combine our initiatives to improve efficiencies?” This question served as a rally cry for the discussions that followed.

Speakers discussed applying new techniques for faster production and how to insert new technologies into existing capabilities, incorporating perspectives on ongoing challenges and the long-term roadmap for infrastructure, such as how to navigate around decades-old facilities and equipment.

Echoing one of Sandia’s two big goals to “lead in modern engineering,” the summit offered discussion around the manufacturing digital thread, which is intended to provide a seamless flow of digital information across the product lifecycle and serve as a primary or authoritative source of truth. Attendees considered how to create more visibility on progress and how to escalate continued barriers and recommend innovative solutions.

An avenue toward stronger relationships

After a packed two days, 80-plus attendees left the event with renewed focus on their shared production mission and energized from the prospect of new opportunities to work together.

“It is important for our folks across our labs, plants and sites come together in person and work through our most complex production challenges,” Steve said. “We know we will succeed, and we know we can go faster — but the boots-on-the-ground work hinges on transparency and trust. And the Production Integration Summit continues to provide a clear avenue toward strengthening the relationships that matter most.”

And when speed and efficiency matter, those relationships reign paramount.