Russia claims to have successfully tested Burevestnik NUCLEAR-POWERED cruise missile that can fly forever, has an unlimited range and is impossible to shoot down
“A major stage of trials of the cruise missile of the Burevestnik complex, the tests of the nuclear power unit, were successfully completed at one of facilities in January,” he said.
The trials “sustained stated specifications of the reactor ensuring the missile’s unlimited range,” the source added.
The military didn’t officially confirm the story, and it is not clear where and when the test reportedly took place. The videos released by the missile’s development team earlier showed how the engineers, dressed in all white and wearing safety masks, were carefully examining the prototype at an undisclosed location. The weapon itself was partially covered in the footage.
The weapon’s ambitious concept was unveiled by President Vladimir Putin during his State of the Nation address last March. The 9M730 Burevestnik, known as SSC-X-9 Skyfall under its NATO reporting name, is designed as a nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed intercontinental cruise missile capable of traveling “unlimited distances.” It is even able to circle around the globe for days, if required.
The military says that its ability to traverse virtually any distance will be coupled with an equally astounding “unlimited ability to maneuver.” It will make the missile extremely hard to intercept while penetrating an enemy’s defenses.
If the weapon becomes fully operational, Moscow will be able to launch missiles “from the Asian mainland, program them to cross the Pacific, go around South America, and penetrate US airspace from the Gulf of Mexico,” Popular Mechanics wrote earlier this week.
In theory, the Burevestnik could fly forever because it has a nuclear power source, potentially circling the globe until remotely ordered to approach a target and hit it with a nuclear warhead.
Scientists claim to have developed a nuclear power plant small enough to fit inside the missile and power a turbojet engine – but these claims have been met with scepticism in the West.
The missile is designed to use a conventional engine for takeoff, switching to a nuclear powered power source for flight – hence its theoretical ability to be in the air for days.
If the Burevestnik actually works, the heat from the nuclear reaction inside the small reactor would be used to heat the air inside a jet engine, replacing the need for fuel.
