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Nuclear testing

US Resumes Nuclear Weapons Testing: A Step Towards an Accelerating Arms Race

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The US government has announced plans to resume nuclear weapons testing, with President Donald Trump instructing the Pentagon to restart the program immediately. This decision is met with widespread concern, as it could spark a new era of nuclear proliferation and increase the risk of radioactive fallout globally. The move would also undermine the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which has been signed by 187 countries, including the US.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US plans to resume nuclear weapons testing, which could lead to an accelerating arms race with other nuclear-armed states, particularly Russia and China.
  • The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been signed by 187 countries, including the US, but has not been ratified by the US.
  • Prior to the 1990s, nuclear-armed states used testing to understand the effects of nuclear weapons and to develop new designs, but since then, they have stopped explosively testing due to technical advancements.
  • The numbers of nuclear weapons "available for use" have started to climb again, including those in military stockpiles, deployed, and on high alert.
  • Russia has developed a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile, while China is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal.
  • The New START Treaty, which constrains 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, is set to expire in February next year, and negotiations on a successor treaty have not begun.
  • None of the nuclear-armed states are negotiating any new treaties, and the Doomsday Clock has moved forward further than ever before, indicating an exceptionally dangerous time in history.

Statistics:

  • Over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted since the end of World War II, mostly seeking to understand new weapons designs.
  • The Partial Test Ban Treaty banned nuclear tests in all environments except underground in 1963.
  • The US stopped explosively testing in nuclear weapons in 1992, while France stopped in 1996. China and Russia also stopped in the 1990s.
  • North Korea is the only state to have openly tested a nuclear weapon this century, most recently in 2017.
  • The US has said China needs to be involved in the successor to the New START Treaty, which would make it enormously more complicated.
  • China has not expressed a willingness to be part of the process.
  • The New START Treaty expires in February next year, and the Doomsday Clock has moved forward to 100 seconds to midnight, indicating the greatest existential threat to humanity since its creation.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- Global Perspectives -- By Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
  • The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
  • The Partial Test Ban Treaty
  • The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
  • International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
  • International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  • Medical Association for Prevention of War

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