Nuclear warheads are old news.
This Reuters report discloses not only nuclear warhead, but also nuclear propulsion, as mentioned below, presenting risk of "a radiation-spewing mishap".
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible."
Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
The Burevestnik has a poor test record of at least 13 known tests, with only two partial successes, since 2016, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an advocacy group focused on reducing nuclear, biological and emergent technology risks.
The setbacks include a 2019 blast during the botched recovery of an unshielded nuclear reactor allowed to "smolder" on the White Sea floor for a year following a prototype crash, according to State Department reports.
Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom said five staff members died during the testing of a rocket on Aug. 8. Putin presented their widows with top state awards, saying the weapon they were developing was without equal in the world, without naming the Burevestnik.
Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based expert on Russia's nuclear forces, Lewis, Eveleth, and other experts said it will not add capabilities that Moscow's nuclear forces already do not have, including the ability to overwhelm U.S. missile defenses.
He called the Burevestnik a "political weapon" that Putin used to bolster his strongman image before his 2018 re-election and to telegraph to Washington that it cannot dismiss his concerns over U.S. missile defenses and other issues.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
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What this "nuclear-powered missile" offers Russia is range, distance from launch, to target. Is it fundamentally destabilizing? Short answer: NATO says no.
This Reuters report discloses not only nuclear warhead, but also nuclear propulsion, as mentioned below, presenting risk of "a radiation-spewing mishap".
Exclusive-U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
Jonathan Landay / Mon, September 2, 2024 at 9:00 AM EDTWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible."
Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
The Burevestnik has a poor test record of at least 13 known tests, with only two partial successes, since 2016, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an advocacy group focused on reducing nuclear, biological and emergent technology risks.
The setbacks include a 2019 blast during the botched recovery of an unshielded nuclear reactor allowed to "smolder" on the White Sea floor for a year following a prototype crash, according to State Department reports.
Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom said five staff members died during the testing of a rocket on Aug. 8. Putin presented their widows with top state awards, saying the weapon they were developing was without equal in the world, without naming the Burevestnik.
Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based expert on Russia's nuclear forces, Lewis, Eveleth, and other experts said it will not add capabilities that Moscow's nuclear forces already do not have, including the ability to overwhelm U.S. missile defenses.
He called the Burevestnik a "political weapon" that Putin used to bolster his strongman image before his 2018 re-election and to telegraph to Washington that it cannot dismiss his concerns over U.S. missile defenses and other issues.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
Exclusive-U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible." Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost...
What this "nuclear-powered missile" offers Russia is range, distance from launch, to target. Is it fundamentally destabilizing? Short answer: NATO says no.
