‘Flying Chernobyl’: that’s why Putin’s new weapon is so dangerous

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Putin claims to have tested the cruise missile called Burewestnik (in German: Petrel) in the Arctic on Thursday. According to Moscow, there is a nuclear energy drift, which should make an “almost unlimited range” possible.

In 2018, Vladimir Putin (71) presented six ‘strategic super weapons’ with which Russia wants to strengthen its army. The Burewestnik is one of them. The Americans had already expected the test. US surveillance planes have been circling over the remote Arctic for the past two weeks. This was reported by ‘Focus’, among others.

Nearly undetectable to defense systems

According to Russian information, the Petrel is a nuclear-powered cruise missile. The ‘flying Chernobyl’, as the weapon is also called, could ‘circle the Earth several times’ without any problems. At least that’s what Russia says. However, experts estimate that the range could be around 25,000 kilometers. This means that multiple circumnavigations around the Earth are only possible below or above the Arctic Circles.

Due to its low location, the Burevestnik would be virtually undetectable to anti-aircraft systems. Putin already knew it for sure in 2018: the cruise missile is ‘invulnerable’ and has the ‘ability to bypass interception lines’. The weapon must be able to carry out surprise attacks from all possible directions.

Explosion during test flight increased radiation

Russia tested a first prototype of the Burewestnik in 2019. At that point, the short test flight ended abruptly with a crash into the sea. In August 2019, the cruise missile was tested again, resulting in an explosion that killed several people. As a result, radiation levels in the surrounding towns and cities rose sharply.

Between 2017 and 2019, Russia tested the Burevestnik 13 times. All attempts have failed so far. Now Russia wants to have succeeded in making the nuclear missile fly. If this is true, Ukraine may have another reason to worry. (obf)

Source: Blick