Earlier this week, a subcritical nuclear test was conducted by the United States in Nevada, as verified by an announcement from the National Nuclear Security Administration of the US Department of Energy.
The third experiment during President Joe Biden’s administration took place on Tuesday to collect crucial information regarding the nation’s nuclear warheads, as stated by the National Nuclear Security Administration. This initial test in the Nimble series was carried out at the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation (PULSE) facility in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a branch of the US Department of Energy, has emphasized its use of subcritical tests to verify the safety and effectiveness of nuclear warheads, refraining from conducting nuclear explosive tests. Despite the US government imposing a ban on tests involving nuclear explosions in 1992, successive administrations have continued to carry out subcritical tests. The most recent test took place in September 2021.
Marvin Adams, the Deputy Administrator for Defence Programs, stressed the importance of increasing the frequency of these subcritical experiments in order to consistently collect crucial data on nuclear weapons materials, eliminating the need for further underground nuclear explosive testing.
