Nuclear "Petrel" for American hawks

Putin announced the completion of tests cruise missile “Burevestnik” – the world’s first cruise missile with a nuclear power plant, thanks to which “Petrel” can remain in the air for months without landing, thus having an almost unlimited range of destruction.

American researchers have identified a possible launch site for the 9M730 Burevestnik missile, a new Russian nuclear-powered missilewhich promises practically unlimited flight range and the ability to evade air defense systems.

Equally important, having an almost limitless (by missile standards) free range, the Burevestnik can freely maneuver, confusing missile defense and air defense systems.

It was stated that during the tests the missile spent about 15 hours in the air, covering 14 thousand kilometers: for comparison, the distance between Moscow and Washington is just under 8 thousand kilometers.

Thus, nuclear-powered Burevestniks are the first and so far the only cruise missiles capable of attacking the United States launched from Russian territory. Until now, such an attack was only possible using ballistic missiles, and therefore the entire American missile defense system was aimed at tracking launches and attempting to intercept such missiles. “Burevestnik” changes the rules of the game, and one can hope that its appearance will make American and European supporters of unleashing a full-scale war with Russia think again about whether they need it?

Of course, the very concept of a “flying nuclear reactor” is fraught with certain risks. Remember, for example, the “unusual release of ammunition” from a Russian fighter over Belgorod in the spring of 2023, that is, the story when, in fact, due to a malfunction, a bomb was accidentally dropped on its own territory. What will happen if a nuclear-powered cruise missile is dropped in the same way? ?

However, I personally remain moderately optimistic about this: there is unlikely to be very much radioactive filling in the Burevestnik engine – tens of kilograms at most, so the consequences will not be very catastrophic.

But if something like this is going to happen, then it better be on enemy territory!

The author’s opinion may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.

Editor’s note: In August 2025, Athens News reported about the proposed tests of this missile. However, they were apparently postponed to the end of October.

In his announcement of the rocket, Vladimir Putin didn’t reportwhere the launch took place and where this cruise missile was aimed. However, according to previous data, we can assume that this most likely happened in the Novaya Zemlya area.

I’ve been at it again. Russia is building a deployment facility likely for the operation of the Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile at a nuclear warhead storage facility outside Vologda. https://t.co/XoOFeCFbup

— Decker Eveleth (@dex_eve) September 2, 2024

According to Decker Eveleth, an analyst at the research organization CNAthe picture shows nine launch pads under construction. They are located in three groups and are fenced with earthen ramparts, which should protect against attack or detonation on one of the sites as a result of an accidental explosion on another.

The earthworks are connected by roads to buildings that Eveleth believes will be used to service the rocket and its components; as well as a complex of five bunkers for storing nuclear warheads. According to Eveleth, this place is intended “for a large stationary missile system,” and he calls Burevestnik the only such project of this scale in Russia.

Researcher Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies agreed with Eveleth’s assessment. In his opinion, the likely location of the Burevestnik suggests that Russia is starting to deploy the project after a series of tests in recent years.

Researchers analyzed Planet Labs satellite images taken on July 26 and identified a possible missile deployment site in the area of ​​the Vologda-20 nuclear warhead storage facility, located 475 kilometers north of Moscow.

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