From the Daily Express via MSN, August 7:
Vladimir Putin is reportedly gearing up for fresh trials of his 'Flying Chernobyl' missile.
The Burevestnik is allegedly designed to remain airborne for days or potentially weeks while it searches for vulnerabilities in Western defense systems.
Initially revealed by the Russian president in 2018, the weapon is
thought to have undergone more than a dozen trials - allegedly with
minimal achievement.
Heightened recent movements at the Pankovo testing facility on the
Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic - spotlighted by Decker Evelet, a
nuclear weapons specialist at the CNA analytical firm - has sparked
speculation of an approaching trial. A potential trial is also indicated
by the fact that the US deployed a WC-135R radiation surveillance
aircraft of the Air Force to Novaya Zemlya, the Moscow Times, an
independent Russian news publication reports.
The
Burevestnik's most extended flight is thought to have covered merely
around 22 miles, staying aloft for approximately two minutes.
In
2019, the Burevestnik - NATO reporting name SSC-X-9 Skyfall -
infamously plummeted into the Barents Sea, and a recovery mission
resulted in an explosion that claimed seven researchers from the
classified nuclear city Sarov, causing radiation in Scandinavia.
The Burevestnik missile is seen by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a revolutionary 'doomsday' weapon with unlimited range.
The
Kremlin views it as a low-flying "stealth" cruise missile that can
evade Western air defenses and deliver nuclear warheads anywhere in the
world.
Putin
has described it as "a radically new type of weaponry" with "unlimited
range and unlimited ability to maneuver". According to a report by the
Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit arms control organization, Russia
conducted 13 known tests between 2017 and 2019, all of which were
unsuccessful.
The
missile has been nicknamed the "Flying Chernobyl" by former US special
presidential envoy for arms control Marshall Billingslea due to fears
that its unshielded or partially shielded reactor emits radioactive
exhaust, raising environmental and safety concerns.
The
Burevestnik was one of several "doomsday" weapons unveiled by Putin in
March 2018, including the Poseidon nuclear torpedo, Kinzhal hypersonic
missile, Avangard glide vehicle, and the Sarmat - also known as Satan-2 -
giant nuclear rocket....
....MUCH MORE
And on the big guy:
In Other News: "Russia to test new Satan 2 ballistic missile that could obliterate 'area the size of UK or Texas'"
Apparently Satan 1 wasn't up to the job
Russia to Begin ‘Satan-2’ Ballistic Missile Tests in 2020
And from The National Interest, August 12:
Russia’s Nuclear-Powered Missile Isn’t Called the “Flying Chernobyl” for Nothing
Because the Burevestnik employs a compact nuclear reactor and a ramjet, it can fly at low altitude to skirt radar detection and circuitous paths to bypass air defenses.
Russia’s 9M730 Burevestnik, known in NATO nomenclature as the SSC-X-9 “Skyfall,” represents one of Russia’s most ambitious and controversial advancements in strategic weaponry.
Unveiled by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, this nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile has been billed by the Russians as an “invincible” system capable of evading any missile defense. Designed to count US anti-ballistic missile systems, the Burevestnik draws inspiration from Cold War-era concepts like America’s “Project Pluto,” which explored nuclear-powered ramjet propulsion but was abandoned due to the copious amounts of radiation it left in its wake.
This new Russian Burevestnik missile has unlimited range and the ability to loiter indefinitely. In an era of heightened geopolitical tensions, it embodies Russia’s push to build up asymmetric defenses against the West.
The Burevestnik’s Background
When the George W. Bush administration withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002, Moscow began formulating ways to counter what the Russian leadership believed would be an unfair American advantage over Russia. By 2016, Russian designers had created the Burevestnik in an attempt to level the playing field between East and West.
The missile’s name—Burevestnik—means “storm petrel,”
a type of seabird, in Russian. By 2019, trials of its nuclear power
unit were reportedly complete, but the program has been plagued by
setbacks until recently. At least 13 tests inside Russia have been
conducted, with only two deemed partial successes.
Recent satellite imagery from July 2024 reveals construction of a
probable deployment site at Vologda-20, a nuclear warhead storage
facility 295 miles north of Moscow. This site features nine horizontal
launch pads protected by high beams, signaling Russia’s intent to
operationalize the system.
What to Know About the Burevestnik Missile
Because the Burevestnik employs a compact nuclear reactor and a ramjet, it can fly at low altitude to skirt radar detection and circuitous paths to bypass air defenses. Armed with a thermonuclear warhead, it can theoretically loiter for hours or even days, striking from unexpected angles. Estimates suggest this missile has a range exceeding 12,400 miles, far surpassing conventional cruise missiles.
Critics have stressed
that the Burevestnik has weaknesses. For instance, they argue that its
subsonic speed makes the missile susceptible to interception over long
flights. These critics also claim that the inertial guidance systems
accumulate errors, potentially causing deviations. Perhaps most
dangerously, the unshielded nuclear reactor emits detectable heat and
radiation, risking environmental contamination—and earning the missile
the moniker of “Flying Chernobyl.”....
....MUCH MORE
The really spooky one is the cobalt bomb, about which Albert Einstein said:
"If
successful, radioactive poisoning of the atmosphere, and hence
annihilation of
any life on earth will have been brought with in the
range of technical possibilities."
Perhaps loaded on a lingering drone/torpedo:
‘Doomsday’ Nuclear Submarine Armed With Nuclear-Powered, Nuclear-Tipped Torpedoes Delivered to Russian Navy
