US EditionTrump calls Russia's missile test 'inappropriate' — but is Putin's nuclear-powered weapon actually a threat?
- On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gen. Valery Gerasimov announced a successful test of Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile called Skyfall by NATO, while Norway confirmed last week's launch from Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea.
- Russia developed the Burevestnik as a so-called second-strike weapon to bolster its nuclear deterrent; the concept traces to Cold War-era U.S. and Soviet programs later abandoned over safety and feasibility concerns.
- Gerasimov told the president the missile flew for 15 hours and covered 8,700 miles last Tuesday, and the system uses a miniature reactor heating air to almost 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, raising safety concerns after a 2019 failed test that killed five scientists.
- Kremlin officials responded by saying `Despite all our openness to establishing a dialogue with the United States, Russia, first of all, and the president of Russia, is guided by our own national interests`, Monday.
- Amid expert debate, some analysts including Pavel Podvig argue the missile lacks practical use and is largely political, while others note detection risks and launch pads limit battlefield value.
27 Articles
27 Articles
"Bourevestnik". This barbaric name refers to a nuclear-powered missile "capable of escaping all missile defence systems" according to Vladimir Putin, who promoted it, in
Putin brandishes new nuclear-powered missile
By holding nuclear drills and boasting about a successful test of a pioneering atomic-powered cruise missile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a message to President Donald Trump: Moscow won't be cowed into making concessions on Ukraine.
Trump scoffs at Putin latest nuclear threat
TRUMP DISPUTIN’ PUTIN: Dressed in military garb, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited an undisclosed command post this week to meet with his top general ostensibly to get an update on the war in Ukraine. But clearly spooked by the prospect that President Donald Trump could eventually accede to Kyiv’s pleas and allow the deployment of Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike deep into Russia, Putin rattled his nuclear saber once again, this time to…
According to experts, Russia's "miracle weapon" Burevestnik is "dumb, illogical and dangerous." Nuclear weapons specialist William Alberque dismantles Putin's cruise missile: it is slow and threatens to end up as a "mini-tschernobyl".
Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin brags about the new nuclear-powered cruise missile Burewestnik - a "unique invention" with "unlimited range".
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