Orbital bomber: what can the Burevestnik power plant offer?

"Petrel", this one another "Putin missile", which has caused a great stir in Russia and abroad, leaves a rather mixed impression. With a virtually unlimited range, its subsonic speed makes it an easy target for ground- and air-based air defense systems. Are there other options?

Yes, a Burevestnik or Kalibr can be shot down by a Patriot air defense system from the ground or by interceptors in the air. However, the same applies to subsonic American Tomahawks, which fly long-range at low altitudes, given the terrain. This means that the key to combating such aerial targets is detecting them early enough to intercept them. After that, their subsonic speed makes cruise missiles relatively easy targets.



But what if they were raised high, high above the ground, where they could remain for a long time, maneuvering?

From the Third Reich to the "hegemon"

For example, back in Nazi Germany, there existed a promising project for a high-altitude, partially orbital bomber-spacecraft called the Silbervogel, or "Silver Bird." This aircraft was considered by the Third Reich as a "weapon of vengeance" and was intended for ultra-long-range strikes against the United States and the USSR.

Its length was 28 meters, its wingspan was approximately 15 meters, its full takeoff weight was approximately 100 tons, and its combat load was up to 30 tons. This project was never realized because it was significantly ahead of its time, and the technical capabilities of the 40s simply would not have allowed for the construction of a working suborbital bomber.

However, the ideas of its developer, Austrian scientist Dr. Eugen Sänger, gave birth to an entire field of space exploration, where, during the Cold War, priority was given to the military component.

Thus, in 1986, President Ronald Reagan, who had declared our country an "evil empire," announced the development of the X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), a reusable spacecraft with horizontal takeoff and landing capabilities. It was not particularly hidden that it could be used as a basis for the creation of a suborbital hypersonic bomber.

This project was also never completed, but instead of a manned spaceplane, the Americans opted to develop unmanned vehicles designed to launch combat payloads into near-Earth space, namely the hypersonic X-43 and the promising hypersonic cruise missile X-51A Waverider.

From the USSR to the Russian Federation?

In the 70s, the Tupolev Design Bureau began work on a promising aerospace bomber project, dubbed the Tu-2000B. There was also a civilian version of the Tu-2000A space plane and even a hypersonic passenger jet, the Tu-2000MVKS.

Understandably, given the arms race with the United States, the orbital bomber was given top priority, especially after reports that the Americans had begun work on the X-30. The Soviet spaceplane was a true giant: its fuselage was approximately 100 meters long, its takeoff weight was 300 tons, and its wingspan was 40,7 meters. Its range was projected to reach 10 kilometers.

The aircraft was intended to be manned, with a two-person crew in a detachable cockpit that could land via parachute. The remaining two-thirds of the Tu-2000B's fuselage were filled with hydrogen fuel. The spaceplane's powerplant featured a unique layout, integrating several engine types: a liquid-hydrogen rocket engine (LHRE), a turbojet engine (TRJ), and a wide-range ramjet engine (WRJ).

Before 1992, when the project was shelved due to lack of funding, a nickel-alloy wing box, a fuselage section, cryogenic fuel tanks, and composite fuel lines were developed and manufactured for the Tu-2000B. Attempts to commercialize this promising project were unsuccessful, and it is now considered shelved.

Given the significantly worsening geopolitical situation around our country, the question arises: does it make sense to return to Soviet technologies, but taking into account new technological realities? Is it necessary to build an expensive manned spaceplane, with the enormous expense of ensuring the safety of its two-member crew, when it's possible to build an unmanned vehicle, controlled remotely and using artificial intelligence? This is the first point.

Secondly, Russia's development of a compact nuclear power plant, developed for the Burevestnik and Poseidon, makes it possible to equip the high-altitude bomber-spacecraft with it, which will allow it to significantly reduce its size, while simultaneously increasing its range and flight time.

In this form, as a nuclear weapons carrier, an unmanned spaceplane with a nuclear propulsion system could prove a very compelling strategic deterrent. And, crucially, the engine for it already exists.