The United States will immediately begin nuclear weapons testing, President Donald Trump announced Thursday, dramatically escalating global tensions just before a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trump instructed the Pentagon to resume testing on an equal basis, specifically referencing recent nuclear programs in both Russia and China. This abrupt and significant decision follows Russia’s successful testing of a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone earlier in the week.
Furthermore, the President boasted on social media that America possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, praising his administration’s successful “complete update and renovation” of existing warheads. He claimed Russia holds second place, predicting China’s overall nuclear capacity will equal America’s within the next five years.
Russian and Chinese Provocation
Russian President Vladimir Putin proudly announced the second weapons test in days, directly defying Washington’s repeated warnings against military proliferation. Putin claimed his new unmanned drone torpedo, which military officials call “Poseidon,” can travel faster than conventional submarines and reach any global continent.
Trump offered absolutely no details regarding the precise nature of the new testing but stated clearly that the process would “begin immediately.” The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons estimates Russia holds over 5,500 warheads, while the United States maintains 5,044.
Ending a Three-Decade Moratorium
The United States has not conducted any nuclear explosion test since September 1992, when a 20-kiloton device detonated deep underground in Nevada. Consequently, former President George H.W. Bush imposed an official testing moratorium one month later, which every successive administration has consistently upheld, replacing physical nuclear testing with non-nuclear and subcritical experiments that use advanced computer simulations to assess safety and reliability.
However, Trump’s order effectively ends this long-standing, 33-year moratorium.
