MilitaryBurevestnik Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile
Missile Systemalleged
The 9M730 Burevestnik is an experimental Russian nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile currently under development. It is designed to achieve virtually unlimited range, allowing it to evade global missile defense systems by taking highly circuitous flight paths. Due to its developmental status, many of its performance capabilities and technical specifications remain unconfirmed and highly speculative.
Specifications
| Type | Missile System |
| Origin | Russia |
| Manufacturer | JSC NPO Novator |
| Introduced | 2025 |
| Status | In development |
| Range | Globally unlimited (theoretical) |
| Warhead | Nuclear (payload capacity unconfirmed) |
| Propulsion | Solid-fuel launch booster with a nuclear thermal ramjet cruise engine |
| Guidance | Inertial navigation with GLONASS satellite updates and terrain contour matching (TERCOM) |
History
Development of the Burevestnik reportedly began in the early 2000s as a response to the United States withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and it was officially revealed by President Vladimir Putin in 2018. The program has suffered several high-profile setbacks, including a fatal explosion during a recovery test in 2019 near Nyonoksa that caused a temporary spike in local radiation levels. Testing has continued at remote sites like Novaya Zemlya, but the missile is not yet believed to be fully operational or deployed in active service.
Operators
| Country | Quantity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | Putin claims ready; independently unverified | alleged |
Text adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo from Wikimedia Commons; see the Wikipedia article for author and license.
