Military expert Dmitry Kornev — about how the Burevestnik missile with a nuclear power plant will change the balance of forces in the world
Tests of the Burevestnik missile have been successfully completed in Russia. This was announced by Vladimir Putin at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on October 5. The President emphasized that this is a "global-range cruise missile with a nuclear propulsion system."
It is no coincidence that the Head of State noted this technical feature of the product — no one in the world has such a rocket. We were the first. Work on nuclear-powered aircraft has been underway since the 1950s. Russia has successfully completed this program.
What is the uniqueness of the "Petrel"? First of all, there is enough nuclear fuel for several months of work. That is, the rocket can patrol in the air for a very long time, waiting for further commands.
The Petrel will take off and leave for the waiting area. Moreover, it can be thousands of kilometers long. The missile will be able to stay on combat duty for a very long time — weeks or even months, waiting for the coordinates of the target. After receiving them, it will launch an attack.
Moreover, it is almost impossible to knock it down. It will bypass any air or missile defense zones. A nuclear power plant will allow this to be done, it will not need to fly to the target along the shortest trajectory, saving fuel.
It can be assumed that the creation of such a missile system became possible thanks to the work of domestic nuclear scientists in the nineties and noughties. At that time, a breakthrough was made in the creation of small-sized nuclear reactors. Scientists and engineers have managed to create a model that can be placed on compact nuclear devices — and not only flying, but also floating. It is enough to recall the project of the Poseidon unmanned nuclear vehicle. These are products that are close in technology.
Of course, we should not forget about the Soviet reserve in this area — we got a good legacy.
During the development of the "Petrel", tests were carried out that were unique in their complexity. It is clear that any accident of such a rocket can lead to radioactive contamination of large territories.
For this reason, the tests of the real sample of the "Petrel" took place at the military nuclear test site of the Russian Federation, which is located on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
For the first time, Vladimir Putin mentioned the creation of the "Petrel" on March 1, 2018, while delivering a message to the Federal Assembly. At the same time, he spoke about the new Sarmat heavy intercontinental missile, the Peresvet laser weapon complex, the hypersonic Dagger, as well as the Poseidon unmanned nuclear vehicle. These are the weapons systems that are capable of ensuring a strategic balance in the world for decades to come.
Moreover, the Burevestnik is a unique nuclear deterrent system. It was not made for an attack. Another thing is important: it is capable of providing a guaranteed strike against an aggressor who used nuclear weapons.
I repeat that it is impossible to repel the blow of the "Petrel" now. The enemy will have to create air defense systems and detect such missiles. It's very expensive, but most importantly, it's a long process. Not only missiles capable of intercepting the Petrel are needed, but also its detection systems — space, surface, air and ground.
It is clear that the waiting areas of the "Petrel" will be difficult to access for a potential enemy. For example, they may be located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, in remote areas of the Pacific Ocean or over Siberia. And it will be very difficult to track the flight of such a rocket. A possible enemy will have to strengthen the space grouping, create new air defense echelons, including sea and even space-based ones.
Air defense, which protects against such systems, is much more difficult to create than the missiles themselves, and its deployment will be very expensive. This amount will be incomparably more than that spent on the development of the "Petrel". It will take billions, but most importantly — years.
If necessary — if there is a political will and a decision — Russia can quickly begin serial production of "Petrels". In the current situation, when the defense industry is charged with results, we can additionally release 100 such missiles in a fairly short period of time — I think it's a year, two at most. Against the background of general defense spending, this will not be so sensitive.
It is important to understand: we are not saying that we will start deploying these combat systems tomorrow. We don't want to threaten anyone with them.
The author is a military expert, editor—in-chief of the MilitaryRussia Internet project
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion