Trump's planned tests are 'not nuclear explosions', US energy secretary says

Chris Wright says the tests will be "non-critical explosions", meaning that Americans would not be seeing mushroom clouds.

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"These are not nuclear explosions," Wright told Fox News on Sunday. "These are what we call non-critical explosions."

The comments come days after Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had directed defence officials to "start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis" with rival powers.

But Wright, whose agency oversees testing, said people living in the Nevada desert should have "no worries" about seeing a mushroom cloud.

"Americans near historic test sites such as the Nevada National Security Site have no cause for concern," Wright said. "So you're testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry, and they set up the nuclear explosion."