In late October, Trump took to his social media platform to announce that he wanted the Department of War to resume nuclear testing.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country.
“This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
Contrary to Trump’s comments, the US is not considered to have the largest number of nuclear weapons, although it is one of the top 3 nations, alongside Russia and China.
According to the Federation of American Scientists think tank, Russia still has the largest quantity of nuclear warheads.
The three countries with the most nuclear weapons
Including retired warheads, that are earmarked to be dismantled:
- Russia has 5,459 nuclear warheads
- US has 5,177
- China has 600
As well as this, according to a report from the Independent, neither Russia or China has conducted a nuclear weapon test in over 25 years. Russia’s last known test was in 1990, while China has not tested one since 1996.
High tensions between the US and Russia is suspected to be part of the reason Trump is calling for tests to get underway immediately.
However, there are other nations that also have nuclear weapons, albeit with significantly less warheads than the US.
France holds the most in Europe, and most of them are based on submarines, with the remainder on air-launched missiles.
The UK’s are sea-based and to date the country has carried out 45 nuclear weapons test since the second world war.
India and Pakistan have long been in an arms race, and tensions between the nations often invigorates fears of a nuclear conflict.
Israel has never officially confirmed that they are in possession of nuclear weapons and has intentionally opted for a strategy of deliberate ‘nuclear ambiguity’. However, to uphold this, it has never demonstrated any nuclear weapon tests.
North Korea has often bragged about its nuclear weapon prowess despite having the smallest arsenal. The nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has repeatedly pledged to increase this arsenal.
