US President Donald Trump announced he has instructed the Department of Defence to resume nuclear weapon testing on an “equal basis” with other powers, via Truth Social. “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,” he stated.
The order comes ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 1 in South Korea, amid heightened tensions.
Trump highlighted Russia as second and China as third in nuclear capabilities, warning China could catch up in five years. Russian President Vladimir Putin tested a Poseidon nuclear torpedo on October 22 and a Burevestnik missile on October 21, alongside nuclear drills. The US last tested in 1992.
The US opened the nuclear age with the 1945 Trinity test (20-kiloton bomb) at Alamogordo, New Mexico, followed by atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending WWII. Tests validate new weapons and ensure older ones function.
The resumption asserts US strategic power but risks escalating arms races.
