China
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
Sources
France
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
France definitively ended its nuclear testing in 1996 and dismantled in an irreversible manner its nuclear testing facilities in French Polynesia.
France built simulation capacities which are it presents as a sustainable substitute to nuclear testing to ensure the safety and reliability of its nuclear arsenal, without resorting to nuclear testing.
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
France has continued to refrain from nuclear-weapon testing and to use and develop its simulation programme.
Sources
National Report submitted by France. Report submitted by France under actions 5, 20 and 21 of the Final Document of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (2022–2026). NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2. 7 March 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2
Russia
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What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
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United Kingdom
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
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United States
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
Between 1945 and 1992, the United States conducted 1054 nuclear test explosions, with its final test occurring on September 23, 1992. That year, the Hatfield-Exon-Mitchell amendment to the fiscal year 1993 energy appropriations bill was passed into law, which established a limited moratorium on nuclear testing and stated that “no underground test of nuclear weapons may be conducted by the United States after September 30, 1996, unless a foreign state conducts a nuclear test after this date, at which time the prohibition on United States nuclear testing is lifted.” The United States has continued to abide by the moratorium following the conclusion of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), although it ultimately did not ratify the treaty and thus has not facilitated its entry into force.
To sustain the United States’ nuclear arsenal without returning to testing, the Clinton administration established the Stockpile Stewardship Program to obtain technical information about the stockpile through subcritical experiments, computer simulations, and diagnostic tests.
Although it continued to abide by the testing moratorium, the Trump administration’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review explicitly stated that it “will not seek ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.”
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
Throughout the review period, the United States continued to observe its moratorium on zero-yield nuclear explosive testing and did not conduct a nuclear explosive test.
Biden administration officials, including the NNSA Administrator, reiterated on multiple occasions that there was no technical need for the United States to resume nuclear testing. In a demonstration of transparency, in 2022 and 2023 journalists and civil society experts were invited to tour the Nevada National Security Site to view the United States’ stockpile stewardship capabilities, and representatives from NPT States parties were invited to Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory for transparency visits. These transparency visits were largely intended to indicate that the United States can continue to sustain its nuclear arsenal without resorting to nuclear testing.
The second Trump administration appears to be attempting to reverse these longstanding U.S. policy positions. In October and November 2025, President Trump made numerous statements indicating that he would begin the process of resuming U.S. nuclear testing. State Department officials subsequently clarified that the President was referring to explosive low-yield nuclear testing, similar to the experiments that the United States had accused Russia and China of conducting. As of April 2026, the United States had not conducted a nuclear explosive test.
Sources
National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office. “United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992.” U.S. Department of Energy, DOE/NV—209-REV 16, September 2015. https://nnss.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DOE_NV-209_Rev16.pdf.
“Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1993.” Public Law No. 102-377. https://www.congress.gov/102/statute/STATUTE-106/STATUTE-106-Pg1315.pdf.
Nevada National Security Sites. “Stockpile Stewardship.” National Nuclear Security Administration. https://nnss.gov/mission/stockpile-stewardship-program/.
U.S. Department of Defense. Nuclear Posture Review 2018. Washington, DC: Office of the Secretary of Defense, February 2018. https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/media/2018-Nuclear-Posture-Review-Version-2.pdf.
Kimball, Daryl G., and Carol Giacomo. “Managing an Arsenal Without Nuclear Testing: An Interview With Jill Hruby of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration.” Arms Control Today, December 2023. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2023-12/interviews/managing-arsenal-without-nuclear-testing-interview-jill-hruby-us-national.
National Nuclear Security Administration. “Two NNSA National Labs host Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty representatives from around the world for transparency visit.” July 21, 2022. https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/two-nnsa-national-labs-host-nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty-representatives-around.
National Nuclear Security Administration. “NNSA demonstrates transparency during arms control and nonproliferation experts’ visit to Nevada.” December 1, 2023. https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-demonstrates-transparency-during-arms-control-and-nonproliferation-experts-visit.
Brumfiel, Geoff. “Step Inside the Secret Lab Where America Tests Its Nukes.” January 29, 2025, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/01/29/nx-s1-5276315/atomic-bomb-nuclear-weapons-lab-nevada.
Trump, Donald (@realDonaldTrump). “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 5 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.” Truth Social, October 29, 2025. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115460423936412555.
O’Donnell, Norah. “President Trump on nuclear testing, the government shutdown, immigration, tariffs and U.S.-China relations.” CBS News, November 2, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-on-nuclear-testing-government-shutdown-immigration-tariffs-china-60-minutes-transcript/.
Gordon, Michael, and Robbie Gramer. “U.S. Accuses China of Secretly Conducting Nuclear Tests.” Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/world/china/u-s-accuses-china-of-secretly-conducting-nuclear-tests-fd728b6e.