In a dramatic and unprecedented move, US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the immediate resumption of nuclear weapons testing, ending a 33-year moratorium on explosive trials. The announcement came just minutes before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, for high-level trade talks.
Trump made the declaration via Truth Social while aboard Marine One, stating that the US must test its nuclear arsenal on an equal basis with rival powers such as Russia and China.
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, Trump wrote.
The announcement follows Russia’s claimed successful test of a nuclear-capable underwater drone earlier this week a move that Washington had previously warned could escalate nuclear brinkmanship.
A senior Russian lawmaker told RIA Novosti that Trump’s decision could mark a new era of confrontation and unpredictability. Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry urged the United States to uphold its moratorium on testing and protect global strategic balance.
It remains uncertain whether Trump referred to nuclear-explosive testing conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles. No country other than North Korea has carried out an explosive nuclear test in over 25 years.
While returning to Washington, Trump defended his decision aboard Air Force One, saying with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also. He added that testing sites would be determined later, emphasizing the need for America to “keep pace” with other nuclear powers.
Analysts say Trump’s order coincides with China’s rapid nuclear expansion, with estimates suggesting Beijing’s arsenal has doubled to about 600 warheads since 2020 and could exceed 1,000 by 2030, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The US currently holds around 5,225 warheads, while Russia possesses approximately 5,580, as per the Arms Control Association (ACA).
Trump’s decision also follows Russia’s tests of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear torpedo, capable of triggering radioactive ocean swells a development seen as a direct challenge to Washington.
Reaction in Washington was swift and fierce. Representative Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada, announced she would introduce legislation to block the move.
Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, called Trump’s order misinformed and dangerous, warning that it could blow apart the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and spark a global chain reaction of tests.
He added that it would take the US at least three years to resume underground testing at the Nevada site making the move more symbolic than strategic.
The United States last conducted a nuclear test in 1992, followed by China’s final test in 1996 and Russia’s in 1990. The first US nuclear test took place in July 1945 at Alamogordo, New Mexico, followed by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.
Trump’s decision, analysts warn, risks unravelling decades of arms control progress and could plunge the world into a new nuclear age.