US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the United States will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in more than 30 years, saying the move was necessary to maintain parity with Russia and China.
While the US military regularly tests missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, it has not conducted an actual nuclear detonation since 1992 due to an international test ban.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” Trump wrote on X. “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 five years.”
He added that, “because of other countries’ testing programs,” he has instructed the Department of War to begin US nuclear testing “on an equal basis.” “That process will begin immediately,” Trump said.
The announcement came a day after Russia claimed to have tested an atomic-powered torpedo drone capable of carrying nuclear warheads, following what it described as a successful long-range cruise missile trial.
As tensions rise, questions grow over how the US and Russia now compare in terms of nuclear strength.
How do Russia and US compare?
While Russia ( 4,380 nuclear warheads) and the US (with 3,700 warheads) together dominate the world’s nuclear-arsenal inventory.
A breakdown of the 4,380 warheads suggests that about 1,710 strategic warheads are deployed – approximately 870 on land-based ballistic missiles, and 640 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and possibly ~200 at heavy bomber bases.
In addition, Russia is modernising its nuclear forces. It’s reported that, as of December 2023, about 95 % of its nuclear triad (land, sea, air nuclear-capable forces) was made up of modern weapons and equipment.
The US, meanwhile, has an estimated 3,700 warheads in its active military stockpile. The arsenal includes a mix of strategic (ICBMs, SLBMs, heavy bombers) and non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons. The exact number of tactical warheads is less transparent publicly.
Under the New START treaty counting rules, the US and Russia are each limited to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700+ launchers and bombers.
The U.S. relies on the so-called “nuclear triad” – ground-based silos, aircraft-carried bombs and nuclear-tipped missiles in submarines at sea – to deter others from launching their weapons against America.
And the latest announcement by Trump shows that nuclear weapons policy, once thought to be a relic of the Cold War, has increasingly returned to the fore.