Technicians weld inside a modified shipping container during construction of Sandia National Laboratories’ Mobile Vault prototype. The 20-foot container houses the high-security vault system designed for rapid deployment to remote locations. (Photo by Craig Fritz)
High-security vaults have long been used to protect nuclear weapons and materials from theft, sabotage or unauthorized access, typically in permanent bunkers or fixed facilities like the Weapons Storage and Security System vaults embedded in NATO aircraft shelters. For transport, specialized trailers such as the Safe Secure Transport developed in the 1970s have provided secure movement, but options for on-site storage in remote or temporary spots, such as field operations or crisis zones, have relied on improvised measures like armed guards or basic enclosures, leaving gaps in protection. According to a July 15, 2025 Sandia National Laboratories announcement, a team there has now developed a mobile approach to fill this capability gap.
To fill a capability gap for securing national security assets where permanent facilities are unavailable, engineers at Sandia National Laboratories designed, built and demonstrated a deployable high-security vault in six months.
Roots from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Stockpile Responsiveness Program
The project stemmed from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Stockpile Responsiveness Program. That initiative seeks to boost the nuclear weapons enterprise’s ability to quickly design, develop and deploy capabilities in response to evolving threats. The vault, fitted into a standard 20-foot shipping container, offers a mobile alternative for securing critical assets where fixed structures aren’t possible.
The team adopted a rapid, iterative design process rooted in design-thinking, ditching strict specs for flexible goals like maxing out performance within the container’s size and weight limits. This let them skip drawn-out requirements, such as preset delay times for breaches, and focus on practical gains.
From concept to reality
The effort kicked off with quick concept selection: Within two weeks, the group picked a final design from 10 options. An inexpensive 1:14-scale model, built for under $500, let them collect early input from users at U.S. Combatant Commands and the Pentagon.
“Executing the Mobile Vault project has been the most rewarding and exciting project I’ve worked on in my career,” said Stephen Neidigk, a Sandia manager, said in a press release. “When we demonstrated the full functional vault to the customer exactly six months to the day, I almost couldn’t believe it. The drive and passion the team has for this project is like nothing I’ve seen before.”
For the full-scale build, a 3D model enabled early orders of key parts, like the semi-custom door, while electrical engineers cut development time in half by mixing 3D-printed parts, off-the-shelf boards and reusable components for access controls, sensors and backup power.
The prototype passed a full demo six months in. Sandia is now making two more for Grey Flag 25, a Defense Department exercise testing gear in simulated ops. After that, the tech will shift to industry for production and wider use.
