Russian President Vladimir Putin dropped a bombshell announcement on Sunday that has sent shockwaves through every Western defense ministry: Russia has successfully tested the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a weapon so deadly that it flew 14,000 kilometers without stopping and can evade every single missile defense system America has ever built. Putin’s message to US President Donald Trump? Russia has a weapon you cannot stop, cannot intercept, and cannot escape.
What Makes Burevestnik Unstoppable?
The Burevestnik (code name 9M730, NATO designation SSC-X-9 Skyfall) isn’t your ordinary cruise missile. This is a nuclear-powered flying nightmare. Unlike conventional missiles that burn fuel and eventually fall from the sky, the Burevestnik carries a miniature nuclear reactor onboard that generates power continuously during flight, giving it virtually unlimited range. It can stay in the air for days, circling the globe multiple times before striking its target.
President Putin first unveiled this ambitious project in March 2018, claiming that Burevestnik’s range is “unlimited” and that it can render any existing missile defense system completely useless. Six years later, he’s proven he wasn’t bluffing. This ground-launched, low-altitude cruise missile doesn’t just carry a nuclear warhead; it IS nuclear-powered, making it capable of maneuvers no conventional missile could ever attempt.
The Test That Shook The World: 14,000 KM In 15 Hours
Russia’s Chief of General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, revealed the jaw-dropping details: on October 21, Russia conducted a test that saw the missile travel approximately 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) and remain airborne for roughly 15 hours. That’s longer than a transatlantic flight from New York to Dubai. That’s enough time to reach any city on Earth, change course multiple times, and still have power to spare.
Why American Defenses Are Powerless
Here’s America’s billion-dollar problem: All of its missile defense systems, THAAD, Patriot, Aegis, are built to stop missiles that follow predictable paths or run out of fuel. The Burevestnik makes all of that useless.
Flying at extremely low altitudes, the Burevestnik can skim the terrain like a stealth fighter, staying below radar detection. Its nuclear propulsion allows it to zigzag, loop, climb, dive, and even loiter, circling outside a country’s airspace for hours while waiting for the perfect moment to strike when defenses are at their weakest. Against it, traditional interceptors are powerless.
Western Doubts And Environmental Dangers
Western defense experts have expressed skepticism about Putin’s claims, noting that concrete evidence hasn’t been publicly released. Experts have also warned that a nuclear-powered missile could spread radiation during flight, posing serious risks to both the environment and human safety.
But here’s the reality: Whether Burevestnik is everything Russia claims or just 80% as capable, it still represents a weapons technology that the United States doesn’t possess and cannot currently counter. That alone changes the strategic calculus.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
