The United States has signaled a major shift in nuclear policy, as President Donald Trump ordered the “immediate” resumption of preparations for nuclear weapons testing, more than thirty years after the country’s last underground test in 1992. The move comes amid growing strategic competition, following Russia’s public testing of the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone and a nuclear-propulsion cruise missile reportedly capable of global reach and evading detection.
No specific timeline or weapon system has been disclosed, but the directive has already sparked political pushback in Congress. Lawmakers from Nevada, home to the historic U.S. nuclear test site, announced plans to introduce legislation to block any return to nuclear testing. The decision represents a dramatic break from decades of restraint and expands the debate on nuclear strategy at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension.
The United States and Russia remain the world’s dominant nuclear powers, followed by nations such as China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. The announcement revives global concerns about nuclear escalation and arms-control erosion, while recalling the catastrophic consequences of nuclear warfare seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. As the strategic balance shifts, the world faces renewed questions about deterrence, security and the future of nuclear stability.
