• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Putin orders Russian ministries to submit proposals on preparations for nuclear tests; US carries out unarmed ICBM test

Global Times

By Deng Xiaoci and Liu Xuanzun Published: Nov 06, 2025 04:12 PM

The US Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Wednesday early morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US media reported, citing a press release from base officials. Following that, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US had notified Russia about the test.

The AFGSC said the ICBM test program aims to validate and verify the weapon system's effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy. The command added that the test was routine and had been scheduled years in advance.

Wednesday's launch also marked the US first test of nuclear-capable, but unarmed, ICBM after the US President ordered a renewal of testing, according to Newsweek.

The Kremlin spokesperson added that Russia is not engaged in an arms race but continues to develop its own systems. He said the current global situation confirms that the decisions to modernize the nuclear triad were correct.

The test-launch was part of an experiment with US nuclear delivery systems, specifically testing nuclear weapon delivery systems. The exchange of signals about resuming nuclear weapons testing between the US and Russia itself represents deterrence to each other, military affairs expert Song Zhongping, told the Global Times.

According to the Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project, the US Air Force maintains 400 Minuteman III ICBMs deployed in silos across Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming, each with a range of more than 6,000 miles, Newsweek reported.

The Newsweek cited a January report by the Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project, which stated that although the Minuteman III was initially deployed in 1970, it has undergone several rounds of modernization, including in 2015, when the missiles completed a multibillion-dollar, decade-long upgrade to extend their service life until 2030.

Russia's TASS News Agency reported on local time Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the special services, and the relevant civil agencies to submit proposals on preparing for possible nuclear weapons tests.

"I instruct the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the special services, and the relevant civil agencies to gather and analyze additional information on this issue at the Security Council and submit agreed proposals on the potential start of preparations for nuclear weapons tests," the head of state said. "Let's proceed on this basis. I await your report," the Russian president concluded, per TASS.

The report noted that earlier, the US president said he had directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately, citing other countries' ongoing activities. President Trump did not specify what types of tests he was referring to or whether they would include the detonation of nuclear warheads.

At the meeting, which was intended to discuss transport security and the results of the government delegation's visit to China, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin cited US President Donald Trump's statements about resuming nuclear weapons testing and mentioned that [Russian] lawmakers were concerned about the situation, TASS reported.

Putin described the issue as serious and asked Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Russian Armed Forces' General Staff Chief Army General Valery Gerasimov, Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov to comment, reported TASS.

Belousov, in particular, cited Washington's active build-up of strategic offensive weapons. He said Russia must maintain its nuclear potential to ensure an adequate response. With this in mind, the minister proposed "immediately begin preparations for full-scale nuclear tests."

According to the meeting transcript released by the Kremlin, Putin said, "I took note of some of your remarks and opinions and I would like to note that Russia has always strictly adhered to its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and we do not plan to abandon these obligations."

"At the same time, indeed, in my 2023 Address to the Federal Assembly, I said that if the US or any other state party to the Treaty was to conduct such tests, Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures," Putin added.

Russia, through continuous technical improvements, aims to achieve equilibrium and parity with US nuclear forces. While Russia is building new strategic nuclear capabilities, the US is relying on its legacy systems, Song explained said.

However, the ongoing competition between the US and Russia in experimenting with nuclear delivery systems, and even hinting at nuclear explosion tests, poses a serious threat to world peace and stability, and nuclear non-proliferation.