The main trump card of the Russian strategic forces is the Burevestnik nuclear installation. This opinion of Chinese experts is cited by the military news portal "Zhongguo Junwang".
The article notes that it is this nuclear installation that will become Russia's trump card against the West, since at the moment no country can oppose the "Petrel" air defense system that can repel its blow.
The observer of the portal in his article of March 26 also noted that the "Petrel" is able not only to overcome intercontinental distances, but also to carry a nuclear warhead weighing 250 kg. In addition, it was created using advanced stealth technology.
The decision to begin development of the Russian intercontinental cruise missile of unlimited range with a nuclear power plant "Burevestnik" was made in December 2001 after Washington's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Limitation of Missile Defense Systems of 1972.
For the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the appearance of such weapons in a message to the Federal Assembly on March 1, 2018. The missile received its name based on the results of an open vote held on the website of the Ministry of Defense.
In September 2020, British military intelligence warned that the Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile "Burevestnik" could be in the air for almost unlimited time and strike from unexpected directions around the world.
In October, CNN, citing satellite images from Planet Labs, reported that Russia was allegedly preparing to resume testing of the Burevestnik at the test site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The images show a landfill in the village of Pankovo.
The Kremlin, in turn, called on the public to focus on the information that comes from the Russian side.
At the same time, in November, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with representatives of law enforcement agencies, said that Russia will continue to modernize its strategic nuclear forces and strengthen all their components against the background of existing military and political risks. Now the share of modern weapons in them is 82%. Nevertheless, according to him, the country does not intend to get involved in a costly arms race, but is aimed only at ensuring national security.
