WASHINGTON, May 13. /TASS/. The United States still has no technical need to resume explosive nuclear testing, although the White House could decide to conduct such tests for "other reasons" of a political nature, said US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, whose department oversees the national military nuclear complex.
"This year again, the leaders of the weapons laboratories and the Stratcom (US Strategic Command - TASS) commander again certified our weapon stockpile as reliable from the non-explosive testing we do. I think our arsenal is ready to go," Wright emphasized, testifying before the US Senate Armed Services Committee. "But there may be other reasons for which the commander-in-chief may want to engage in a nuclear test," he added.
Meanwhile, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the US Energy Department, Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Brandon Williams noted that the department conducts "more than a thousand" non-explosive tests on its nuclear stockpile every year. "I guarantee you that our adversaries have no question about how well our weapons work," Williams said. In his view, the question of nuclear testing is "a multi-dimensional problem." "There is a technical component to it, and I support the secretary's statement, but there is a geopolitical and a political component to it as well," the official noted. "All of those decisions rest in the hands of the president, as they should because all of it relates to deterrence," Williams said.
On October 29, 2025, US President Donald Trump issued a directive on resuming nuclear testing. The US administration has not specified whether explosive tests will be conducted. Since 1996, US government experts have regularly confirmed that there is no technical or scientific need to resume nuclear test explosions. According to US data, the United States has conducted 1,030 nuclear tests since 1945, while 2,056 have been carried out worldwide.
Russia’s stance, debate in US
In the summer of 2024, Robert O’Brien, former US National Security Advisor who served from 2019 to 2021 under President Donald Trump, called for the resumption of nuclear testing. In a June 2024 article in the Foreign Affairs magazine, O’Brien argued that the United States should restart such tests as part of its strategic competition with Russia and China.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Yermakov, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, told TASS in an interview that several indirect signs indicate Washington may still be preparing to resume full-scale nuclear testing. The Russian leadership has repeatedly warned that if the US takes this step, Moscow will be forced to respond in kind.
In May 2020, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration had discussed the idea of resuming nuclear testing. John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019, later confirmed that Washington had indeed considered this possibility.
The US administration acknowledges that a presidential directive remains in effect requiring the country to maintain technical readiness for a full-scale nuclear test. The last underground nuclear explosion took place on September 23, 1992 at the Nevada Test Site. The NNSA administrator recently confirmed that he opposes resuming US nuclear weapons testing and is prepared to make corresponding recommendations to the White House.