![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vtforeignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Putin-Burevestnik.jpg\" "\\"Putin")
<\/a>By Drago Bosnic | VT<\/p>\n
On October 21,\u00a0the Russian military tested the 9M730 \u201cBurevestnik\u201d<\/a>, a strategic nuclear-powered cruise missile. Army General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, reported that the missile flew 14,000 km in 15 hours. This would mean its cruising speed is around 900 km\/h (933, to be specific), consistent with the high subsonic speeds of most types of regular cruise missiles. However, this is where the word \u201cregular\u201d stops being relevant to the \u201cBurevestnik\u201d. Namely, the missile is capable of striking targets anywhere on the planet, as its range is effectively unlimited (a miniaturized nuclear reactor powers its jet engine). The doctrinal and strategic advantages of such a weapon are multifaceted, as its low altitude flight profile and effectively unlimited range allow it to strike from unexpected directions, avoiding areas with heavy air and missile defenses.<\/p>\n Another important advantage could be its ability to essentially replace strategic bombers (or missile carriers, according to Russian military nomenclature), as it could patrol along the coastlines of Moscow\u2019s adversaries. Namely, it\u2019s highly likely the missile can land (possibly with a parachute, though that hypothesis is yet to be confirmed), which would explain the lack of radiation after its recent flight test. In fact, despite various mainstream propaganda machine outlets claiming that the \u201cBurevestnik\u201d would supposedly \u201cleak radiation\u201d along its flight path,\u00a0reports from Norway suggest there was no radioactivity in the aftermath of the test<\/a>. This could imply two things: first, the reactor is safe and doesn\u2019t emit radiation, and two, it reinforces the hypothesis that \u201cBurevestnik\u201d can land (if the missile hit a target during a test, there would still be radioactive fallout from the reactor\u2019s destruction).<\/p>\n This would enable it to fly near hostile airspace and conduct surprise first strikes, while retaining the ability for retaliatory strikes in case Russia is attacked. Commenting on the test, President Vladimir Putin stated that it proves \u201cthe reliability of Russia\u2019s nuclear shield\u201d and that \u201cBurevestnik\u201d is a \u201cunique weapon system that no other country possesses\u201d.\u00a0President Putin acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0that the Russian military is yet to \u201cdetermine possible ways of deployment\u201d, meaning that the missile opens up a plethora of doctrinal and strategic possibilities. Military sources report that \u201cBurevestnik\u201d can be deployed on surface ships and mobile ground-based launchers, including platforms such as the \u201cIskander-K\u201d and \u201cBastion-P\u201d. Both of these missile systems can launch different types of conventional or nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.<\/p>\n Namely, the \u201cIskander-K\u201d can fire the 9M728\/R-500, with a range of up to 500 km and\u00a0the Novator\u2019s 9M729<\/a>, which Western sources claim has a staggering range of up to 5,500 km. The \u201cBastion-P\u201d is a coastal defense system that mainly uses the P-800 \u201cOniks\u201d, a ramjet-powered supersonic cruise missile, as well as the 3M22 \u201cZircon\u201d, a hypersonic weapon powered by a scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet). If both of these could use the 9M730 \u201cBurevestnik\u201d, it would effectively turn them into strategic platforms, further reducing the already virtually non-existent chances of defeating Russia in a surprise first strike. The Kremlin has already pointed out that it was designed to strike underground command posts and strategic military command and control centers with its 1 Mt warhead (equivalent to one million metric tons of TNT exploding at once).<\/p>\n To put that into perspective<\/a>, the atomic bomb America dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of approximately 15 kt (equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT), meaning that a single \u201cBurevestnik\u201d is approximately 67 times more destructive. The missile also employs advanced stealth features and can execute complex maneuvers, changing trajectory as needed. It can fly at very low altitudes, making it extremely difficult to detect and intercept. Further elaborating on the new weapon, President Putin highlighted that the program achieved significant breakthroughs in nuclear propulsion technologies, enabling it to integrate a miniaturized reactor. He stated that it\u2019s \u201ccomparable in its output with a reactor of a nuclear-propelled submarine, but it\u2019s 1,000 times smaller\u201d, adding that the \u201ckey thing is that where a regular reactor needs hours, days or weeks to go online, this one launches in minutes or seconds\u201d.<\/p>\n Obviously, this indicates major breakthroughs in Russian nuclear technologies, meaning that the Eurasian giant can certainly implement them in atomic energy projects, further improving its already world-class reactors and nuclear power plants (an area in which Russia has already been dominant for decades). Although defense undoubtedly takes precedence, this proves that Moscow\u2019s military prowess can surely contribute to its economic and technological development,\u00a0particularly in energy production<\/a>. In addition, many other countries can also take advantage of this by working with Russian state corporations such as Rosatom. The Kremlin\u2019s ability to produce miniaturized reactors undoubtedly contributes to both military and civilian applications of the technology. Western nations lag decades behind Russia when it comes to such breakthroughs.<\/p>\n More importantly, this not only complicates their ability to produce energy, but also makes it difficult (if not impossible) to design and deploy weapons similar to \u201cBurevestnik\u201d. The United States is particularly concerned that the missile\u2019s ability to remain airborne pretty much indefinitely further complicates its already overstretched air and missile defenses. The aforementioned ability of \u201cBurevestnik\u201d to approach its targets from unpredictable trajectories poses a\u00a0virtually insurmountable challenge for the US military<\/a>, which has concentrated the vast majority of its defenses in the northern and northeastern regions of North America. The new Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile could simply circumvent all that by flying over the Southern Hemisphere, striking from the direction where such air and missile defenses are rarely deployed (or most likely non-existent).<\/p>\n It should be noted that \u201cBurevestnik\u201d is nowhere near the most advanced weapons in Russia\u2019s vast strategic arsenal,\u00a0the most powerful in human history<\/a>. Namely, the Eurasian giant fields a plethora of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), IRBMs (intermediate-range ballistic missiles), MRBMs (medium-range ballistic missiles), SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), ALCMs (air-launched cruise missiles), as well as numerous types of hypersonic weapons that few (if any) other countries possess. This includes the \u201cOreshnik\u201d, RS-26 \u201cRubezh\u201d, RS-24 \u201cYars\u201d, RS-28 \u201cSarmat\u201d, R-36M2 \u201cVoyevoda\u201d, R-29RM series (\u201cShtil\u201d, \u201cSineva\u201d and \u201cLayner\u201d), R-30 \u201cBulava\u201d, Yu-71\/74 \u201cAvangard\u201d HGV (hypersonic glide vehicle), etc. There\u2019s also the monstrously destructive \u201cPoseidon\u201d, a nuclear-powered underwater drone\/torpedo that possesses so much destructive power it can trigger tsunamis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n