NEWDELHI -The United States conducted a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada. This step was taken mere hours after Russia revoked a ban on atomic-weapons testing, to which Moscow said that this move would make it equal to the United States.
Citing the Department of Energy, Bloomberg reported, the experiment on Wednesday used chemicals and radioisotopes to “validate new predictive explosion models” aimed at detecting atomic blasts in other countries.
Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, Corey Hinderstein said, “These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of US nuclear nonproliferation goals. They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.”
The notable significance is the timing of this test. It comes in the wake of Russian lawmakers’ decision to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, an agreement adopted in 1996 that prohibits nuclear explosions worldwide.
The treaty remains unratified by several countries, including the US, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, and Egypt.
Next week, the Russian upper house, the Federation Council, will review the bill, and lawmakers there have already expressed their support for it.
US officials call for greater openness because, although the US and Russia don’t test complete nuclear warheads, they perform subcritical experiments to confirm weapon designs without the materials necessary for a full atomic chain reaction, as reported by Bloomberg.
There is widespread worry that Russia might restart nuclear testing to deter Western support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned experts discussing the need for such tests, though he hasn’t expressed his own stance on the matter yet.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov of Russia said last week that Moscow is committed to abide by the ban, indicating that any potential resumption of nuclear tests would be done if Washington does so first.
