President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night from South Korea he has ordered the Department of War to “immediately” start testing nuclear weapons, something the United States has not done since 1992 at the end of the Cold War.
The mushroom cloud from the Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test in 1954, the largest nuclear weapons test ever conducted by the United States, March 1, 1954, U.S. government photo.
Trump’s statement came just an hour before he was scheduled to hold a high stakes meeting in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping and also after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful tests of two nuclear powered, nuclear capable weapons systems–a cruise missile and an underwater drone.
Trumps announcement on Truth Social:
The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
Excerpt from AP report published Wednesday on Russia’s nuclear weapons systems:
Russia has conducted a successful test of a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, declaring that the new weapon can’t be intercepted.
Putin’s statement, which comes three days after he praised a successful test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, appears to be another message to U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia is standing firm in its maximalist demands on Ukraine.
Speaking at a meeting with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tested while running on nuclear power for the first time Tuesday, describing it as unmatched in speed and depth.
He said the nuclear reactor that powers Poseidon is “100 times smaller” than those on submarines, and the power of its nuclear warhead is “significantly higher than that of our most advanced Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.”
Putin first mentioned the underwater nuclear-powered drone in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address along with other prospective weapons. Russian media reported that Poseidon was designed to explode near coastlines and unleash a powerful radioactive tsunami.
…On Sunday, Russia’s chief military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that an Oct. 21 test of Burevestnik was a complete success.
The missile covered 14,000 kilometers (8,680 miles) during a 15-hour flight using nuclear fuel and conducted maneuvers “demonstrating its high capabilities in evading missile and air defense systems,” Gerasimov said.
Fox News reported Trump had earlier this week reminded Putin of the United States’ nuclear weapons capabilities (excerpt):
Trump made the comments during a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday morning, saying the U.S. is “not playing games” with Putin.
“Russia said this week that they’ve tested a new missile that can go more than 8,000 miles. Is that saber-rattling for you? What is that?” a reporter asked.
“I know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shores. So, I mean, it doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles, and they’re not playing games with us. We’re not playing games with them either,” Trump responded.
“We test missiles all the time. But, you know, we do have a submarine, a nuclear submarine. We don’t need to go 8,000 miles. And I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying either, by the way. You ought to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon [to be] fourth year. That’s what you ought to do instead of testing missiles,” he added.
The Hill reported a close Trump advisor wrote a column last year urging him to resume nuclear weapons testing should he win the 2024 presidential election (excerpt):
Former Trump’s national security advisor, Robert C. O’Brien, encouraged Trump, a presidential candidate, in June last year to test nuclear weapons if he wins the 2024 White House election.
“Washington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world for the first time since 1992—not just by using computer models,” O’Brien wrote in an article for the Foreign Affairs magazine, which was published in June last year. “If China and Russia continue to refuse to engage in good-faith arms control talks, the United States should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons.”
Excerpt from a Library of Congress paper on U.S. nuclear weapons testing:
The United States has observed a voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since 1992, although it has maintained the ability to resume these tests at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Since 1993, it has used a program known as Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship to maintain confidence in the “safety, security, and effectiveness” of its nuclear arsenal. Press reports in May 2020 indicated that Trump Administration officials had discussed whether to conduct an explosive test of a U.S. nuclear weapon. Since then, the first Trump Administration and subsequent Biden Administration statements have reaffirmed the moratorium.
In an August 2024 video, the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security (NNSA) Administrator stated that the United States has “no technical reasons” to conduct nuclear tests. Some analysts have expressed concerns that NNSA development of new warhead designs could “result in demands to resume explosive testing.” Congress may continue to face these issues as it considers authorizing and appropriating funds for the stockpile stewardship program, as well as modernization of the nuclear security enterprise.
Limits on U.S. Nuclear Tests
By its own count, the United States conducted 1,054 explosive nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992. Of these, NNSS hosted 928 tests, including 100 atmospheric tests. In 1990, Congress created a program to compensate some individuals whose health may have been affected by this testing. DOE also engages in environmental remediation at NNSS.
The United States has been a party since 1963 to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, under which it is obligated to refrain from conducting nuclear weapons test explosions in the atmosphere, outer space, or under water. The United States is also party to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974, which bans underground nuclear weapons tests having an explosive force of more than 150 kilotons.
In 1992, Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Hatfield-Exon-Mitchell Amendment establishing a temporary unilateral moratorium on underground nuclear testing (P.L. 102-377, §507; 50 U.S.C. §2530). It states that “no underground test of nuclear weapons may be conducted by the United States after September 30, 1996, unless a foreign state conducts a nuclear test after this date, at which time the prohibition on United States nuclear testing is lifted.” Several foreign states have conducted nuclear tests since 1996.
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