Trump Says U.S. Will Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing ‘Immediately’ After Three Decade Pause

Topline

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will restart nuclear weapons tests after a three-decade-long pause, and do so on an “equal basis” with other countries—namely Russia and China—who are carrying out such testing programs.

Key Facts

In a post made on Truth Social, shortly before his face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said: “Because of other countries' testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”

The post noted that “this process will begin immediately,” although the president didn’t mention what types of nuclear weapons tests would be carried out.

In the post, Trump pointed out that the U.S. has more nuclear warheads than any other country, as he took credit for the “complete update and renovation of existing weapons” during his first term.

The president noted that Russia has the second largest number of nuclear warheads, and China is “a distant third, but will be even within 5 years,” signaling that the “equal basis” comment was directed at these two countries.

“Because of the tremendous destructive power [of nuclear weapons], I HATED to do it, but had no choice,” Trump said.

How Many Nuclear Warheads Do The U.s., Russia And China Have?

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's annual yearbook published in June this year, the U.S. has 1,770 actively deployed nuclear warheads, the largest of any country in the world. In addition, the U.S. has 1,930 stored warheads, bringing its total military stockpile to 3,700. Russia is estimated to have slightly fewer deployed warheads at 1,718, but its stored warhead count of 2,591 means its total military stockpile is significantly larger at 4,309 warheads. In 2025, the U.S. and Russia also retired 1,477 and 1,150 warheads, respectively. The report estimates that China has only 24 warheads actively deployed, but its military stockpile of 600—including 576 stored warheads—is the third-largest in the world. The SIPRI report notes that China’s nuclear stockpile has grown from 500 to 600 in the past year. The report added: “China’s nuclear arsenal is growing faster than any other country’s, by about 100 new warheads a year since 2023. By January 2025, China had completed or was close to completing around 350 new ICBM silos.” ICBMs are intercontinental ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons several thousand miles away.

Key Background

Aside from China’s rapidly growing military stockpile, Trump's announcement is likely a response to recent nuclear tests carried out by Russia. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country tested a new nuclear-powered underwater drone that can also be tipped with a nuclear warhead. Putin claimed that the drone, which is called Poseidon, is powered by a nuclear reactor that is “100 times smaller” than the ones used in submarines and its atomic warhead is “significantly” more potent than Russia’s “most advanced Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.” Being nuclear-powered means Poseidon would effectively have an unlimited range. A few days earlier, Putin also touted Russia’s new nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed cruise missile, Burevestnik, which also has an unlimited range and ability to loiter in the air for days before striking a target.