Is US Planning Nuclear Explosions Under New Plan? What Team Trump Said

US President Donald Trump recently ordered new tests of the American nuclear weapons system. However, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has clarified that the testing will not involve nuclear explosions at this time. This was the first clarity from the Trump administration since the president took to social media last week to say he had "instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis."

"I think the tests we're talking about right now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions," Wright said in an interview with Fox News. 

The Energy Secretary, whose agency is responsible for testing, added that the planned testing involves "all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and they set up the nuclear explosion."

He added that the tests will be carried out on new systems to help ensure replacement nuclear weapons are better than previous ones.

Confusion Over Trump's Plan

The confusion over Trump's intention persisted since Thursday, when, just before he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, he took to his Truth Social platform and appeared to suggest that the US will restart the process for testing nuclear weapons after a halt of 33 years, a move that appeared to be a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.

He reaffirmed his comments on Friday but did not answer directly when asked whether that would include underground nuclear tests that were common during the Cold War.

The United States conducted nuclear test explosions in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Wright said, and collected detailed information and measurements on the blasts.

"With our science and our computation power, we can simulate incredibly accurately exactly what will happen in a nuclear explosion," Wright said.

"Now we simulate what were the conditions that delivered that, and as we change bomb designs, what will they deliver?"

What Trump Said About The Plan

US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to restart nuclear testing in the United States, suggesting that the nuclear ambitions of geopolitical rivals Russia and China are a reason behind his plan. Talking to CBS News, the Republican leader said Moscow and Beijing are also testing their nuclear arsenals, but they just don't talk about it.

"We have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearisation. And I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some. They have quite a bit," he said during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes.

He said the US needs to test weapons because "you have to see how they work."

"You know, you do have to— and the reason I'm saying— testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea's testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test, and I want to be— I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," he said.

"Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about it."