Texas Tech University is taking a big step forward in research and development for national defense.

Management firm Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) received approval recently from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to pursue a lease for a facility that will transform the skyline of the Pantex Plant, the nation’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and a key element in the U.S. nuclear security enterprise. Pantex is located 17 miles east of Amarillo.