Donald Trump's 'secret new nuke' pictured for first time

US officials confirmed the weapon was being tested earlier this year (Image: Ian Recchio / SWNS)

Donald Trump's top-secret nuclear missile has reportedly been photographed for the first time while on a test flight in California. The public sighting of the city-destroying weapon could be a show of strength to Russia and China as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping also expand their nuclear arsenals. Photos taken in late October by aviation photographer Ian Recchio appear to show the 20ft AGM-181 Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) stealth nuclear cruise missile in the skies over Owens Valley.

The missile seemed to be mounted on a 488,000lb B-52H Stratofortress known as Torch52, with Mr Recchio spotting the aircraft in time to snap several clear images of it. "We heard Torch52 on the scanner and looked up just in time to catch it climbing to about 5,000 feet," he told The Aviationist. "When we reviewed the photos, the ordnance looked unlike anything we'd seen before."

Ian Recchio snapped the photos in late October (Image: Ian Recchio / SWNS)

Air Force officials released computer-generated renderings of the LRSO earlier this year and confirmed that the nuke had undergone a series of successful test flights.

The new stealth missile was created to replace the older AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) and is set to mark a major step forward in modernising the US's nuclear capabilities.

The weapon reportedly has a range exceeding 1,500 miles and an adjustable nuclear yield between 5 and 150 kilotons, giving it 10 times more power than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 and the capacity to destroy cities.

While the sighting has not been confirmed, it comes just days after Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile was undergoing testing, affording Moscow long-range impact over unpredictable trajectories.

Trump's top-secret missile could be sent to frontlines by 2030 (Image: Getty)

China has also rapidly expanded its nuclear arsenal, with around 100 thought to have been added to the stockpile every year since 2023.

Andrew Hunter, then the Air Force's service acquisition executive, told the Senate Committee on Armed Services that the weapon was being tested under wraps last year.

"It is tracking well, the program is definitely on track to meet its timeline and deliver to the wardighter any day and we're also doing well on coast for that program as well," he said.

The LRSOs are set to replace the current inventory of missiles by 2030, according to The War Zone.