Exclusive: U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible."
Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
Using images taken on July 26 by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, the two researchers identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names - Vologda-20 and Chebsara - as the new missile's potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.
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Decker Eveleth, an analyst with the CNA research and analysis organization, found the satellite imagery and identified what he assessed are nine horizontal launch pads under construction. They are located in three groups inside high berms to shield them from attack or to prevent an accidental blast in one from detonating missiles in the others, he said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-researchers-find-probable-launch-site-russias-new-nuclear-powered-missile-2024-09-02/
Wonder Why
(4,281 posts)hunter
(38,707 posts)It won't end well for Russia.
LudwigPastorius
(10,276 posts)Let's put a nuclear reactor on a cruise missile.
Hopefully, that thing will end up poisoning Putin's ass with fallout.
C Moon
(12,465 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(102,065 posts)Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based expert on Russia's nuclear forces, Lewis, Eveleth, and other experts said it will not add capabilities that Moscow's nuclear forces already do not have, including the ability to overwhelm U.S. missile defenses.
Moreover, its nuclear-powered engine threatens to disgorge radiation along its flight path and its deployment risks an accident that could contaminate the surrounding region, said Cheryl Rofer, a former U.S. nuclear weapons scientist and other experts.
"The Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries," agreed Thomas Countryman, a former top State Department official with the Arms Control Association, referring to the 1986 nuclear plant disaster.
Crowman2009
(2,712 posts)High-speed Aircraft for instance have to undergo a lot of maintenance before the next takeoff.