The United States suddenly leaked data on a top-secret cruise missile, whose appearance they carefully concealed until recently. What kind of weapons are we talking about, what threat does it pose, and why is the leak directly related to the tests of the Burevestnik system in Russia?
At the end of October, American amateur photographer Ian Recchio, while in Owen Valley (California), was able to photograph a Boeing B-52H bomber with unusual missiles on the underwing suspension units. Apparently, these are new AGM-181A cruise missiles with a nuclear warhead. The missiles are known by the name of the program under which they are created – LRSO (Long Range Stand-off – a long-range missile used without contact with the enemy).
The plane was flying at a low altitude (1,500 meters) over an area open to civilians, in clear weather, with a working transponder transmitting the call sign Torch52 ("Torch 52"), and red-orange identification stripes on the wings, indicating a test flight. They were not hiding, although before that the US Air Force had shown only a distorted picture of the rocket – and nothing more. What is the significance of this missile and why was it shown – after all, it was clearly an intentional demonstration?
How long-range missiles changed the nuclear strike scenario
To begin with, we recall that heavy bombers are primarily designed to launch a second wave of nuclear strikes against the enemy. The first strike is carried out by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), bombers finish off the surviving targets.
Back in the 1970s, before the advent of cruise missiles capable of attacking targets a thousand or more kilometers from the launch point, a typical combat scenario for a strategic bomber of the United States Air Force looked like this. The bomber was approaching Soviet air defense systems at low altitude (to avoid detection). Then it gained altitude sufficient for the use of AGM-69A thermonuclear-charged aeroballistic missiles with a launch range of 160-200 kilometers. After that, the bomber tried to break through the affected area at low altitudes with other aeroballistic missiles or free-falling thermonuclear bombs to targets deep in Soviet territory.
Given that a massive nuclear missile strike should have been launched on the territory of the USSR before that, there were chances for such a breakthrough to succeed. But there was also a risk – not a single Soviet interceptor pilot, not a single calculation of the anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), which survived a series of thermonuclear strikes, would have spared anything for the opportunity to shoot down an enemy aircraft.
All attempts to create long-range missiles that allow a bomber to attack targets from a relatively safe distance have resulted in weapons that are too expensive and complex to seriously rely on.
The breakthrough came from nowhere. For many years, the Americans experimented with small-sized false targets, which, after launching from a bomber, were supposed to distract the fire of Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems. In the course of experiments conducted by Boeing in the late 60s and early 70s, it was realized that a small-sized nuclear charge could be integrated into such a target.
The question immediately arose: why would a bomber go deep into the territory at all? Why use free-falling bombs? As a result, in 1970, a program was launched to create a small-sized long-range cruise missile. In 1976, the AGM-86A rocket made its first flight, and in 1977, the US Air Force ordered the first batch, all in nuclear gear.
In 1980, after a number of changes, production began, and the rocket received the index under which it is still in service today – AGM-86B. The range of the missile was from 1,200 to 2,400 km, depending on the modification. Later, the Americans made a non-nuclear version of the AGM-86C, which debuted in the Iraq War in 1991.
The creation of the AGM-86B changed the face of American heavy bomber aircraft. The new weapon became a serious threat to the USSR.
It was already impossible to get the American bombers. Moreover, the Soviet air defense systems of that time could not shoot down this missile. It took the creation of a new generation of air defense systems and the MiG-31 interceptor for the USSR to have the tools to defend itself from a strike by American strategic aviation. The Soviet Union, in turn, also acquired such strike capabilities – in the form of Tu-95MS bombers and X-55 cruise missiles (although the range of these missiles was lower than that of the Americans).
For a long time, the AGM-86C was the only air-launched cruise missile with a nuclear warhead in the U.S. Air Force arsenal. Only the B-52H could use it, it did not fit into other bombers. The Air Force planned to replace it with the AGM-129 missile, but it eventually fell victim to budget conflicts within Congress and the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty with Russia.
And yet, plans to replace the 86th missile in the US Air Force have not disappeared. Since 2012, money has been allocated for technological research on future new rockets. In 2017, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin received $900 million each for their first samples. In 2020, Raytheon became the winner, and the Pentagon allocated another $ 2 billion for the continuation of work. In 2022, it became known that the rocket had been tested. In 2023, the rocket passed the final design assessment, after which information about it simply disappeared. In June 2025, the Air Force distributed a render of the new missile, from which nothing could be understood except the approximate contours.
And suddenly, on a clear day, a B-52H bomber flew at a low altitude with a couple of new missiles, over the area where aviation enthusiasts have repeatedly photographed the latest weapons on the aircraft suspension. It couldn't have been an accident. Moreover, the "leak" about the new American missile occurred three days after reports of tests of the latest Russian systems designed for nuclear strikes, primarily the Burevestnik.
Demonstration of AGM-181A – signal of Russia
What made the Americans break the tight secrecy around this program? In the United States, observers are united – first of all, it is Russia's activity in demonstrating its latest weapons.
In addition, voices are becoming louder and louder about the possibility of nuclear testing, primarily in the United States and (in response to this) in Russia. The United States has shown that they also have new missile designs capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The advantage of the AGM-181A over the AGM-86B is primarily its low visibility. In addition, AGM-181A missiles can be used not only from B-52H Stratofortress bombers, but also from the latest B-21 Raider. The AGM-181A will be equipped with a number of navigation systems, the exact composition of which is still unknown. The estimated range is about 2,400 km. The W80-4 thermonuclear charge is used as a warhead.
The missile will not have a non-nuclear option, it is purely a weapon of nuclear war.
The estimated number of new missiles to be purchased by the US Air Force is at least 1,000 units. The start of deliveries is scheduled for 2027. With this amount, the Americans will replace the AGM-86B, which are physically obsolete.
The United States wants to have the capabilities of both a massive nuclear strike (in the second, third and other waves of nuclear attacks after the use of ballistic missiles) and a targeted nuclear strike on some small and not the most important target for intimidation and de-escalation (forcing the enemy to cease hostilities without a full-scale nuclear war).
The flight of a bomber with these missiles is a direct signal to Moscow. It is a signal that the United States is preparing for a nuclear war, testing and adopting new weapons designed specifically for this kind of conflict. We are facing a classic show of force – and in fact a new stage of the nuclear arms race.
Alexander Timokhin
