Trump Administration Clarifies Plans for US Nuclear Weapons Testing: No Explosions Planned Despite President's Announcement

The United States conducted nuclear test explosions during the 1960s through the 1980s, but recent statements from the Trump administration have caused some confusion about potential resumption of nuclear testing.

US President Donald Trump recently directed new testing for America's nuclear weapons system. However, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has provided clarification that these tests will not include nuclear detonations at present.

This marks the first clear explanation from the administration since President Trump announced on social media that he had "instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis."

"The tests we're discussing right now are system tests, not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions," Wright explained during a Fox News interview.

Wright, whose department oversees nuclear testing, further elaborated that the planned assessments involve "all the other components of a nuclear weapon to ensure they deliver the appropriate geometry and they set up the nuclear explosion."

He noted that these tests will be conducted on new systems to verify that replacement nuclear weapons exceed the capabilities of their predecessors.

Uncertainty regarding Trump's intentions has persisted since Thursday when, shortly before meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, he posted on his Truth Social platform what appeared to be an announcement that the US would restart nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year hiatus—seemingly sending a message to nuclear rivals China and Russia.

While Trump reaffirmed his comments on Friday, he did not directly answer whether this would include underground nuclear tests that were standard practice during the Cold War era.

Wright mentioned that the United States carried out nuclear test explosions throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, gathering detailed information and measurements from these detonations.

"With our advanced science and computational power, we can simulate with remarkable accuracy exactly what will occur in a nuclear explosion," Wright stated.

"Now we simulate the conditions that produced those results, and as we modify weapon designs, we can predict what they will deliver."

In defending his decision to restart nuclear testing, President Trump suggested that nuclear activities by geopolitical competitors Russia and China motivated his plan. Speaking with CBS News, the Republican leader claimed that Moscow and Beijing are actively testing their nuclear arsenals but simply don't publicize it.

"America possesses more nuclear weapons than any other nation. I believe we should work toward denuclearization, which I discussed with both President Putin and President Xi. We have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world 150 times over. Russia has numerous nuclear weapons, and China will eventually have many as well. They currently possess quite a significant amount," he said during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes.

Trump emphasized that the US needs to test weapons because "you have to see how they function."

"The reason I'm advocating for testing is because Russia announced plans to conduct tests. North Korea tests constantly, as do other countries. We're the only nation that doesn't test, and I don't want us to be the exception," he explained.

"Russia and China are conducting tests, but they don't discuss it publicly."