Testing of 'unique' new Russian weapon successful, says Putin

Moscow says it successfully tested a Burevestnik nuclear missile this week, with Russian president Vladimir Putin saying it is 'unlike any other in the world.'

The Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, reported that the missile stayed in the air for about 15 hours and covered a distance of 14,000 kilometres, adding that 'this is not the attainable limit'.

The Russian news agency Tass reports that development of the missile began after the US withdrew from the 1972 Ballistic Missile Treaty in December 2001. The creation of new strategic weapon systems is aimed at improving the defence capability and preventing any aggression against Russia and its allies, the Russian Defence Ministry stressed.

The announcement, which followed years of tests of the Burevestnik missile, comes as part of nuclear messaging from the Kremlin, which has resisted Western pressure for a ceasefire in Ukraine and strongly warned the US and other NATO allies against sanctioning strikes deep inside Russia with longer-range Western weapons.

Putin: 'A unique product'

"I have an industry report and the assessments of the Ministry of Defence are generally known. After all, this is a unique product, unlike any other in the world," Putin said.

"I vividly remember when we announced that we were developing such a weapon. Even highly qualified specialists told me that, yes, it was a worthy and worthy goal, but unrealisable in the near future. That was the opinion of highly qualified specialists, I repeat,' he added.

The Pentagon acknowledged that the Burevestnik missile is capable of launching attacks from virtually any carrier 'thanks to its extraordinary range and autonomy', Tass added.

What we know about the Burevestnik missile

According to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Burevestnik missile is comparable in size to the Kh-101 cruise missile, but with an operational range several orders of magnitude greater thanks to its small nuclear propulsion unit. Official presentations show that the missile can be launched from an inclined platform using a removable rocket booster.

Russian military experts describe the Burevestnik as about one-and-a-half to two times larger than the Kh-101, with the wings positioned at the top of the fuselage instead of underneath, and has characteristic protuberances where air is probably heated by the nuclear reactor. Its greater mass would rule out aircraft such as the Tu-160 and Tu-95 as possible carriers. According to Russian sources, the missile measures about 12 metres at launch and 9 metres in flight, with an elliptical nose.

Various analyses suggest that it uses a ramjet or turbojet engine, which would imply radioactive emissions throughout its operation, unlike conventional propulsion systems. British intelligence describes it as a nuclear-powered subsonic cruise missile system with a global range and almost indefinite in-flight time, capable of attacking from unexpected directions.

However, Western experts question its strategic feasibility, pointing out that it would be as vulnerable as any other missile.