Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile: Russia has conducted or is preparing to test it
Russia is preparing to conduct new tests of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, and these tests may have already taken place. This was reported by The New Tork Times.
The publication refers to satellite images taken from September 20 to 28 of the launch site area at the northern Novaya Zemlya test site. During this period of time, special equipment appeared at the training ground, including a tractor with a trailer that meets the parameters of a nuclear-powered cruise missile “Burevestnik” (Skyfall according to NATO classification). This could mean that Russia is preparing to test a missile, or has already tested it during this period.
The publication’s analysts note that on September 20, the Russians removed the protective structures that close the launch pad from the weather, and then reinstalled them. On September 28, the movement of special equipment was also observed near the launch pad.
The tests may be related to the warning issued on August 31 for Russian flight crews flying routes in the vicinity of the new land about a “temporarily dangerous zone” over part of the Barents Sea and around the Pankovo launch site. A similar warning was issued before the Burevestnik test in 2019.
From the beginning of August until at least September 26, two Rosatom planes were stationed at the Rogachovo air base, 160 kilometers from the launch site, which, according to experts from the Norwegian environmental organization Bellona, are designed to track missile launches. The same aircraft were near the test site during the Burevestnik tests in 2018.
The publication notes that during the same period, flights of US reconnaissance aircraft intensified in the area.
