Resumption of American nuclear tests | Donald Trump’s exit arouses perplexity and concern

The American President, Donald Trump, aroused perplexity and concern by evoking this week the need for his country to “immediately” resume “testing nuclear weapons” after a long moratorium.

The head of state indicated Thursday on the Truth Social network, shortly before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that his decision was motivated by tests carried out by other countries. He repeated the assertion Friday.

However, neither Russia nor China, which were identified in the message as the United States’ main rivals in this area, have detonated a nuclear weapon on an experimental basis for 30 years.

The United States conducted its last such test in 1992 at a site in Nevada, but has since adhered to treaty provisions banning them.

Only North Korea, which for several years has been developing a nuclear program supposed to protect it against any external attack, has detonated atomic bombs during this period.

“I’m not sure that Donald Trump himself knows what he’s referring to,” says Jessica West, a specialist in nuclear issues attached to the Plowshares Foundation.

The United States, she said, has no scientific need to relaunch tests of this nature since they have the know-how and technological capabilities required to guarantee, in particular through simulations, the good condition of their arsenal.

The country, adds M^me West, before the moratorium, carried out numerous real tests which allowed it to accumulate more in-depth data than that of other countries.

“If they restarted nuclear testing, other countries would follow suit and this advantage would be lost,” she notes.

Kelsey Davenport, an expert at the Arms Control Association, notes that it is not clear whether President Trump was talking about detonating nuclear warheads or rather testing innovative delivery systems – missiles or others – allowing them to be fired at a chosen target.

“There is no legitimate security or military reason for the United States to resume nuclear tests,” notes the researcher, who is alarmed by the possibility that the administration sees this as a way of projecting an image of power on the international scene.

The US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who generally adheres wholeheartedly to President Trump’s demands, assured that his directive was “responsible” and necessary to ensure that the country maintains its nuclear deterrent capability.

Although the president said he had tasked the former Fox News host with moving forward, responsibility for actual nuclear testing would fall to another department, Energy.

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Donald Trump in an interview with NBC, noting that he was “trying to appear strong” but “doesn’t even know” who is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the nuclear arsenal.

The American leader’s exit came as Russia is increasing its announcements regarding the development of new nuclear vectors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin particularly welcomed the progress of a missile powered by a mini nuclear reactor, the Burevestnik, which would be able to stay in the air much longer than traditional missiles propelled with fuel.

He also announced that significant progress had been made in the development of an “underwater drone” called Poseidon, also powered by nuclear energy, which would be capable of circulating at depth for a long period before striking its target with a nuclear charge.

Several researchers question the veracity of the advances reported by Moscow and the usefulness of the weapons in question.

A respected specialist from Stanford University, Persis Drell, notably indicated to the ScientificAmerican that the new missile will probably be easy to shoot down since it must be subsonic and remain in the air for a long time. He said it was definitely “one of the worst ideas” he had heard.

Russia felt the need to clarify, after Donald Trump’s exit, that no nuclear weapons had been exploded as part of its tests with these technologies.

The Kremlin spokesperson added that this was not a new step in an “arms race” between the two countries.

Russian efforts to develop technologies likely to deceive American vigilance in matters of nuclear attack remain no less worrying, notes M^me West, since they threaten to destabilize the existing balance.

The American project for the Golden Dome anti-missile shield, the feasibility of which is contested, goes in the same direction since it risks convincing countries that are enemies of the United States of the need to strengthen their nuclear capabilities, underlines Mr.^me Davenport.

“All these developments demonstrate that it is absolutely crucial to relaunch the dialogue on the control of nuclear weapons,” notes the researcher.