The United States carried out a subcritical nuclear test earlier this week in Nevada, as confirmed by a statement from the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
The experiment, marking the third under President Joe Biden’s administration, was conducted on Tuesday to gather “essential data” related to the country’s nuclear warheads, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. This test, the inaugural one in the Nimble series, occurred at the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation (PULSE) facility in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a division of the US Energy Department, stated that it relies on subcritical tests to ensure the safety and efficacy of nuclear warheads, abstaining from nuclear explosive testing. While the US government declared a moratorium on tests involving nuclear explosions in 1992, subsequent administrations have persisted with subcritical tests. The last such test occurred in September 2021.
Marvin Adams, Deputy Administrator for Defence Programs, emphasized the intention to escalate the frequency of these subcritical experiments to continuously gather vital data on nuclear weapons materials, obviating the necessity for a return to underground nuclear explosive testing.