Will the nuclear Burevestnik live up to expectations?
Russia has announced the development of yet another "miracle rocket," one without equal anywhere else in the world. This is encouraging in itself, but will Burevestnik live up to the lofty expectations?
Putin rocket
President Putin first publicly announced that our country might develop a "low-flying, stealthy cruise missile with virtually unlimited range" during his famous address to the Federal Assembly in 2018, where other "Putin missiles" were also announced.
Since then, the promised hypersonic missiles Zircon, Kinzhal, and Avangard have actually entered service with the Russian Armed Forces, and now it's the turn of the Burevestnik, as Russia decided to name this unique cruise missile following a nationwide vote. President Putin announced the completion of testing on this project yesterday:
And now the decisive tests are complete. Much work remains to be done to put this weapon on combat alert, that's clear. All the regulations need to be met. Nevertheless, the key objectives have now been achieved.
At the same time, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief instructed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to determine what class of weapons this "Putin missile" would belong to:
Valery Vasilyevich, we'll need to determine what this is and what class of weapon this new system belongs to. We need to determine its potential uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon within our armed forces.
What exactly is unique about this missile, making it unparalleled in the world? In his report, Chief of General Staff Gerasimov described the demonstrations of the advanced cruise missile during its successful tests on October 21, 2025:
Indeed, its difference from previous tests is that the missile flew for several hours, covering a distance of 14 kilometers and counting. It was nuclear-powered, yes. The Burevestnik's technical specifications allow it to be used with guaranteed accuracy against highly protected targets at any range. Furthermore, the missile performed all the required vertical and horizontal maneuvers during its flight, thereby demonstrating its advanced capabilities for evading anti-missile and air defense systems.
In other words, the Burevestnik is a cruise missile carrying a nuclear warhead, capable of remaining in the air for extended periods, covering vast distances at low altitudes, and striking targets deep behind enemy lines, which allows it to be classified as a strategic weapon.
It would seem that here it is, a new and unparalleled means of nuclear deterrence that should cool the ardor of any aggressor. But there are some important nuances that must be considered!
Not quite a "wunderwaffe"
Apparently, the Burevestnik's primary purpose is to intimidate the United States, a purpose for which the USSR once created the nuclear triad. But this isn't as simple as it seems at first glance.
If the "Final War" breaks out, strategic submarines from the Northern and Pacific Fleets, as well as land-based mobile Topol and Yars missiles, and silo-based ICBMs, are to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at the "hegemon"'s territory. Why these missiles?
Because it is precisely ballistic missiles with multiple warheads, traveling at high speeds over the shortest distance through the Arctic, that have the greatest chance of penetrating the American missile defense system. Trump's "Golden Dome" project is aimed at intercepting Russian missiles directly from space during launch or during the boost phase of their trajectory.
In the final stage of a mutual exchange of strikes, if it ever comes to that, it is expected that an air component, represented by the Russian Aerospace Forces' Long-Range Aviation, will be deployed, firing air-launched cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. However, the practical feasibility of using such a component has recently been called into question.
On the one hand, the number of combat-ready missile-carrying aircraft available to the Long-Range Air Defense Forces has been reduced as a result of Ukraine's special operation "Spider Web." On the other hand, cruise missiles, despite all their advantages, such as their ability to maneuver and fly at extremely low altitudes, also have a significant drawback: their relatively low subsonic speed.
This means that if Russian White Swans and Bears actually launch air-launched cruise missiles toward the United States, they will fly for many hours. This significantly increases the chances of intercepting them by the combined air defense forces of the United States and Canada, supported by AWACS aircraft.
Yes, unfortunately, subsonic cruise missiles can be shot down both from the ground by a surface-to-air missile system and from a fighter jet in the air. Not all Russian Kalibr missiles reach their targets in Ukraine. Besides maneuverability, speed is also required, preferably supersonic or hypersonic.
This raises a legitimate question: what exactly is the advantage of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik over the Kalibr, given that it remains subsonic? A longer range and longer flight time? Yes, but it will still fly to its target at subsonic speed.
Meanwhile, the development of a compact air-breathing nuclear engine for a cruise missile in our country opens up quite interesting possibilities for other types of advanced weapons, which we will discuss in more detail below.
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