Nuclear Testing Stance Clarified by U.S. Energy Secretary

The United States has made it clear that it will not conduct a nuclear test, quelling speculation about whether the Trump administration might lift a long-standing ban on such activities.

During an appearance on “The Sunday Briefing,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained that any future tests would involve components of nuclear weapons but not actual nuclear explosions. He described these tests as “system tests,” which are distinct from nuclear explosions and referred to them as non-critical explosions.

Wright’s remarks followed President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would resume nuclear testing in response to other countries’ actions. Trump made this statement on his way to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the context of the nuclear testing debate, President Trump seems to be trying to relieve tensions with Xi, albeit returning to a familiar stance.

However, Wright did not clarify whether he meant explosives that have not been tested since 1992 or the means to deliver such explosives. Notably, North Korea is the only nation to have conducted a nuclear explosive test in the past quarter-century, with its last test occurring in September 2017.

The president mentioned that the Pentagon would initiate tests related to vehicles equipped with nuclear capabilities, while the Department of Energy would oversee explosives testing.

Trump is breaking a 33-year hiatus on nuclear tests, stating, “We stopped it years ago. But other countries are testing, so I think it’s appropriate for us to test as well.”

When asked if the U.S. would start conducting nuclear weapon detonation tests, Trump responded affirmatively, saying, “I say we will test nuclear weapons like other countries do.” He added in a CBS interview that adversaries like Russia and China are likely conducting tests covertly.

According to Pentagon reports, China is quickly expanding its nuclear capabilities and may possess nearly 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030; however, it has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1996. Russia hasn’t verified any nuclear tests since 1990, although it claimed to have tested specific military vehicles recently.

In 1996, the United Nations adopted the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the U.S. signed but the Senate did not ratify. Although many nuclear-armed countries did not ratify the treaty either, it has contributed to setting a global norm against nuclear weapons testing.

Nonetheless, the U.S. continues to conduct tests on unarmed nuclear weapons. There are also non-explosive, subcritical experiments carried out at the Nevada National Security Facility. These involve fissile material but stop short of causing a chain reaction. Officials argue that these tests aid in validating computer models that predict the behavior of aging warheads without necessitating detonation tests.

Wright reassured that upcoming tests would involve non-nuclear explosions aimed at developing advanced systems, ensuring that new nuclear weapons exceed the capabilities of previous models. The U.S. government is currently in the midst of a 30-year, $1.7 trillion initiative to upgrade its aging stockpile of warheads.