On October 21, the Russian military tested the 9M730 “Burevestnik”, 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 “regular” stops being relevant to the “Burevestnik”. 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.

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’s adversaries. Namely, it’s 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 “Burevestnik” would supposedly “leak radiation” along its flight path, reports from Norway suggest there was no radioactivity in the aftermath of the test.

This could imply two things: first, the reactor is safe and doesn’t emit radiation, and two, it reinforces the hypothesis that “Burevestnik” can land (if the missile hit a target during a test,........

© Blitz