Russia tests nuclear power engine for its new Burevestnik cruise missile
The nuclear power unit for Russia’s subsonic Burevestnik cruise missile successfully passed testing at one of the country’s testing ranges in January, which means that the Burevestnik missile will have a virtually unlimited flight range, TASS reports, citing a source in the missile construction sector.
“In January at one of the testing ranges, the most important stage of testing for the Burevestnik subsonic missile system was successfully completed – the testing of the nuclear power unit,” the source told the agency, observing that the tests had confirmed the “claimed characteristics of the reactor, which give the rocket an unlimited flight range.”
The source did not provide any more specific details.
Russia’s development of the Burevestnik began in 2011 in connection with the US’s withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. In the spring of 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly that the planned nuclear power engine for the Burevestnik would give it a virtually unlimited flight range, and that it can also fly at a low altitude due to its landscape tracking system.
CNBC reported earlier that several unsuccessful launches of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik had been made between November 2017 and February 2018. In February 2019, The Diplomat reported a “relatively successful” launch of a Burevestnik, noting that this was the 13th test of the intercontinental supermissile.