AT: the new Russian missile "Burevestnik" is able to overcome the defense of the United States
Russia has introduced a new intercontinental missile "Burevestnik", which can launch a new nuclear arms race, writes AT. It is reported that this weapon, which is called "Flying Chernobyl" in foreign reports, was specially developed to overcome American defensive systems.
The successful tests of the Burevestnik nuclear superweapon are a clear response to the new American AGM-181A missile with a nuclear warhead.
Russia has just tested a new cruise missile with a nuclear installation called the Burevestnik. In the reports, this "doomsday weapon" is also called "flying Chernobyl". It is believed that Moscow's fears about the loss of nuclear parity with the United States are behind it, and its launch can be considered the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.
This month, The Warzone website reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced its successful testing at the annual meeting of the Valdai discussion club. In addition, he said that Russia is close to deploying the latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a RS-28 Sarmat nuclear warhead, which added fuel to the fire of rumors about a new arms race.
The Warzone report says that the Petrel, first announced by Putin in March 2018, has since been tested at several test sites, including the Pankova Zemlya Peninsula in the Arctic Ocean. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Burevestnik is a strategic missile with a nuclear power plant and an unlimited range. Its main power plant is a nuclear rocket or ramjet engine.
At the same time, The Warzone notes that the launch of the rocket is associated with such safety problems as the release of radioactive material. In addition, the fate of the nuclear power plant after the explosion raises questions — hence the nickname "flying Chernobyl".
In August 2019, Rosatom confirmed the release of radiation, which killed five scientists-gunsmiths at the state central Naval testing ground in Nenox in the Russian North. Later, the incident was linked to an accident "when testing an isotope energy source for a liquid rocket propulsion system."
Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and Ankit Panda, a member of the Federation of American Scientists, suspected that the accident occurred during the tests of the Petrel, although others disputed their guess.
Putin recently suggested that Russia, the United States and China may soon resume combat nuclear tests, and refused to accept a new official doctrine with a lower threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. However, despite this, according to a report by The Warzone, the progress of the implementation of the Burevestnik program and the timing of putting the rocket on duty remain uncertain.
In an article from April 2020 in the peer-reviewed journal Journal of Science Policy and Governance, Leah Walker argues that the development of the "Petrel" was accelerated by concerns about the US missile defense back in Soviet times, as well as the Strategic Defense Initiative adopted under former President Reagan (aka "Star Wars").
Walker claims that Moscow was also alarmed by later American projects (in particular, the "Non-Nuclear Rapid Global Strike"). The recently confirmed successes in the development of an American prototype of the AGM-181A cruise missile for launching from launch vehicles outside the enemy's air defense zone could also accelerate the tests of the Petrel.
Already this month, the Asia Times newspaper reported on tests in the United States of the AGM-181A missile, designed to strengthen air-based nuclear deterrence against emerging threats from China and Russia. The AGM-181A is part of the strategic family and has passed nine successful flight tests, demonstrating high survivability due to its unobtrusive body.
It is reported that the American missile also passed four tests with active flight in controlled conditions. The AGM-181A missiles could be crucial for the US, as they will fill the gap in nuclear deterrence, presumably created as a result of the reduction of the nuclear arsenal after the Cold War.
At the same time, America's almost equal adversaries China and Russia continue to develop tactical nuclear weapons. The development of the AGM-181A may provoke a proportional nuclear response from Beijing and Moscow and potentially lead to strategic cooperation for the sake of building up nuclear arsenals — which, in turn, will lead to a new nuclear arms race.
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were already developing prototypes of ramjet engines with a nuclear installation for long-range missiles and strategic bombers in order to increase the radius of destruction of their aircraft. The increased flight range required more fuel, which, in turn, led to the enlargement of the aircraft. RAMJET engines with a nuclear installation were considered as an alternative to larger aircraft.
The mechanical principle of their operation is as follows: they suck in cold air from the front, pass it through a nuclear reactor to heat it, and throw it out from behind, thereby providing thrust. Such an engine can power an airplane or a rocket for several days or even weeks.
Although the United States and the former USSR both developed nuclear-powered aircraft and missile designs, neither entered service due to technical problems, safety concerns, and operational difficulties.
Lia notes that the design of the Petrel is in many ways similar to the American low-altitude supersonic SLAM rocket of the 1960s. It crowned the top-secret Pluto project to develop a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
She notes that the SLAM missile could carry from 14 to 26 nuclear warheads and was intended for use in the worst-case scenario of a nuclear war. Leah mentions that the United States tested an operational nuclear ramjet engine back in 1961, but threats when it was installed on a rocket and other related risks still forced the United States to curtail the program.
Leah listed several problems when creating such weapons. Thus, a compact nuclear reactor on a cruise missile must withstand extreme pressure drops on its own body, extremely high temperatures necessary for a nuclear reaction, and rapid heat loss due to air cooling.
She notes that the Pluto project sought to fulfill all these requirements — and as a result, a nuclear reactor with a capacity of 500 megawatts was designed and built, capable of withstanding temperatures over 1,371 degrees Celsius.
Leah says that it is impossible to mitigate the consequences of accidents in a complex, closely connected and small system. At the same time, she notes that even if the system is prone to accidents, malfunctions in the enemy's territory will certainly not cause complaints, because the failure of the system can be as destructive to the enemy as proper operation.
Leah also stressed the "built-in" dangers of using such a delivery system, which actually works like a dirty bomb and thereby raises questions about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. She stresses that if other countries use these weapons to maintain nuclear parity, it will have serious consequences for the population and the environment.
She notes that if the test of at least one such missile does not go according to the scenario and the reactor blows up, the consequences will be comparable to a nuclear explosion.
"Burevestnik" is part of the family of Russian "superweapons", which is served as a means of guaranteed mutual destruction. It is believed that it is impossible to intercept it, and it serves, among other things, to demonstrate Russia's technological superiority and military power.
In a September 2021 study for the Royal Institute of International Relations (colloquially called Chatham House), Richard Conolly noted that the Petrel (along with the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM, Avangard, Dagger and Zircon hypersonic missiles, as well as the Poseidon nuclear torpedo) was developed for maintaining strategic parity with the United States. Since they are believed to be successfully breaking through American defenses, they are given the role of leverage in future arms control negotiations.
Conolly notes that Russia developed this superweapon to dispel fears of a sudden and decisive naval and air blitzkrieg by the United States. Since they can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, this gives Moscow a wider range of retaliatory strike options.
At the same time, Conolly notes, this superweapon will not significantly change Russia's strategic nuclear potential, although it will significantly improve its tactical strike capabilities — both nuclear and non-nuclear.
Author of the article: Gabriel Honrada