Topline
President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will resume nuclear weapons tests after halting such activities for the past three decades. This move aims to put the U.S. on par with other nations, specifically Russia and China, who have been actively engaging in similar testing programs.
Trump made this announcement via a post on Truth Social, just ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In his statement, he directed the Department of War to initiate nuclear testing to match the efforts of other countries, saying, “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
According to the post, the process of resuming tests will commence immediately. However, Trump did not provide specifics about the types of nuclear weapons tests that would be conducted.
The post also highlighted that the United States possesses the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear warheads. Trump credited his prior administration for the “complete update and renovation of existing weapons” during his first presidential term.
Trump acknowledged that Russia holds the second-largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, while China ranks third. He noted that China might catch up within five years, underscoring that his “equal basis” approach was primarily aimed at these two countries.
Trump expressed his reluctance over this decision, stating, “Because of the tremendous destructive power [of nuclear weapons], I HATED to do it, but had no choice.”
“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.
