US president says he wants testing to start for the first time in more than 30 years on ‘equal basis’ with other superpowers
Donald Trump has instructed the US Department of Defense to “immediately” resume testing nuclear weapons on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
There was no indication that the US would start detonating warheads, but the president offered few details about what seemed to be a significant shift in Washington’s policy.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
“That process will begin immediately,” he added.
His comments, which came just before his highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, also noted China’s growing arsenal.
The United States last tested a nuclear weapon in 1992.
Order comes after Putin boasts about nuclear-powered ‘super torpedo’
Earlier on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin said Russia had successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear-powered super torpedo.
“For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a carrier submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power unit on which this device passed a certain amount of time,” Putin said.
“There is nothing like this,” he said, and claimed its power exceeded Russia’s Sarmat intercontinental missile.
Putin also claimed there was no way to intercept the Poseidon, which analysts believe has a range of 10,000 km and can travel at about 185 km per hour.
There are few confirmed details about the super torpedo, named after the ancient Greek god of the sea, but military analysts say the weapon is capable of devastating coastal regions by triggering vast radioactive ocean swells.
It is described as a nuclear-capable cross between a torpedo and a drone.
This month Putin has also flexed his muscles by testing a new Burevestnik cruise missile and run nuclear launch drills.
US policy shift evokes Cold War-era arms race
The US military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992 because of a test ban.
Trump suggested that changes were necessary because other countries were testing weapons, suggesting a sense of competition that evoked a Cold War-era arms race.
Pentagon officials have not yet responded to questions from US media about the announcement from Trump.
Putin in 2023 signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, which Moscow said was needed to put Russia on par with the US.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was adopted in 1996 and bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, was signed by President Bill Clinton but never ratified by the Senate.
Russia in 2023 said it would only resume tests of its nuclear weapons if Washington did it first.
However nuclear arms expert Daryl Kimball, of US think tank Arms Control Association, said it would take at least three years “to resume contained nuclear tests underground at the former test site in Nevada”.
In a post on X he added: “By foolishly announcing his intention resume nuclear testing, Trump will trigger strong public opposition in Nevada, from all US allies, and it could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by US adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.”
Who has the most nuclear weapons?
In his Truth Social post, Trump claimed: “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country.
It continued: “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.”
However, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia possesses the world’s largest arsenal, with around 5,459 nuclear warheads, while the US follows close behind with 5,177.
Combined they account for 87 per cent of the world’s total inventory of nuclear weapon, however the exact number is far from certain.
The US disclosed its total stockpile size between 2010 and 2018, but in 2019 the Trump administration denied requests for such information.
Under Joe Biden’s administration, the US resumed some transparency on its weapons stockpile.
Trump’s other nuclear announcement
Russia’s nuclear programme is not the only one considered a serious threat by the US and its allies.
In March, North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that could pose a major security threat to South Korea and the US.
As Trump visited South Korea on Wednesday, North Korea said it had conducted successful cruise missile tests, the latest display of its growing military capabilities.
Following a meeting with the country’s president, Lee Jae Myung, Trump said the US will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
Lee said that South Korea’s current diesel-powered submarines have limits in tracking other countries’ submarine activities. If South Korea was equipped with nuclear-powered submarines, he said, it could help U.S. activities in the region.
The US president has been on a whirlwind tour of Japan and South Korea, culminating in talks with China’s leader, with who he wants to strike a trade-war truce.
“We are going to have a very successful meeting, I have no doubt. But he is a very tough negotiator,” Trump said as he shook hands with Xi Jinping.
With agencies
