U.S. Conducts Subcritical Nuclear Test Last Dec.

October 11, 2018

Washington- The United States carried out a subcritical nuclear test at a site in Nevada in December last year, it was learned on Tuesday.

A subcritical nuclear experiment involves no chain reaction or explosion. It was the 28th such test conducted by the country since the first one in 1997 and the first under the administration of President Donald Trump.

According to a report by the U.S. Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration and informed sources, the latest test, codenamed Vega, took place on Dec. 13, 2017, at the Nevada Test Site's underground facility.

Subcritical nuclear tests are not prohibited under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Detailed data about plutonium reactions were provided by the experiment, the NNSA said.

In its Nuclear Posture Review released in February, the Trump administration drastically changed the policy of promoting nuclear disarmament that was taken by former U.S. administrations.

In the review, the administration said it would newly develop low-yield nuclear warheads and nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, while keeping the capability to resume nuclear testing, in order to prepare for possible geopolitical challenges.

The previous administration of President Barack Obama conducted a total of four subcritical nuclear tests. While advocating a world without nuclear weapons, the Obama administration viewed such tests as a way to maintain the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons held by the United States. Jiji Press