The 9M730 Burevestnik Petrel,
or SSC-X9 Skyfall, is a state-of-the-art Russian experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile.
The Skyfall is only one of six strategic weapons unveiled by President Vladimir
Putin since March of 2018. Although not much is known about it, several
sources claim that the missile has virtually unlimited range and lethal capabilities.
In August of 2019, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom confirmed
that the release of radiation at the Nyonoksa missile testing
site near Severodvinsk was linked to an incident involving a classified missile.
Footage circulating on the internet claimed to show the incident, but appears to be more closely
linked to an explosion at a Siberian ammunition dump around the same time.
Additional footage of radiation readings and photos of special radioactive pontoons
seem to indicate the actual event occurred on a secret offshore platform.
It is suspected that if not a launch explosion, the nuclear spike may have occurred during a
mishap to recover a previously lost missile. The incident became known as the Skyfall accident,
as many experts and journalists believe the secret Russian missile was probably involved.
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
In the aftermath of World War II, the tension between the United States and
the Soviet Union quickly escalated to an unprecedented Arms Race and
a significant desire to gain political influence in every non-western country.
To further increase their dominance across the world, the United States and the Soviet
Union established a discreet military presence in strategic locations of every continent.
The Korean War soon broke out, and it ended with the country’s division beyond the 38th Parallel.
The conflict in French Indochina then followed, and for twenty long years, the US forces tried
to impose order in Vietnam but ultimately failed after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Military tensions at the borders of Berlin and Korea, and clashes in the sea of Japan
and the waters of Communist Cuba led both nations to develop innovative ways to attack
each other without the use of ground troops. The result was intercontinental ballistic
missiles or ICBMs, which also became pivotal during the infamous Space Race.
Although the US was the first nation to use atomic weapons as far back as 1945,
the Soviets quickly got up to speed after their first successful test in 1949.
ICBMs combined the destructive capabilities of a nuclear bomb with the lethal range and
speed of a German V2 rocket from World War II, and had astonishing ranges that could
easily surpass 1,000 miles at Mach speeds. As the threats increased between both nations,
they started to test multiple counter-measures against ICBMs, but none were successful.
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan proposed the so-called Star Wars program,
a missile defense system intended to protect the continental United States from nuclear weapons.
Officially known as the Strategic Defense Initiative,
Reagan announced it in March of 1983 with no shortage of controversy.
The Soviet Union took the program as a direct threat to its territory and as an attempt to
neutralize its nuclear capabilities. To prevent this, they counter-attacked with the Skif Laser,
or the Soviet Death Star, but the Cold War quickly de-escalated, and so did the Arms Race.
For the following decades, the threats of nuclear war slowly faded between the US and
the Russian Federation after they signed the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty,
which limited the atomic arsenal of their armies. But Russia would eventually stir things up again
when President Vladimir Putin unveiled a suite of six new missile systems
during a press conference before the Russian Federal Assembly in March of 2018.
One of these systems was a nuclear-powered cruise missile with reportedly unlimited range
and the ability to evade US defensive systems. It was called the Burevestnik “Storm Petrel.”
The SSC-X9 Skyfall
In the 2018 Federal Address, President Putin stated: (QUOTE) "The launch and the
set of ground tests allow Russia to get to creating a radically new type of weaponry—a
strategic nuclear weaponry complex with a missile fitted with a nuclear-powered engine."
Putin then explained that the missile has unlimited range and ability to maneuver,
rendering any NATO defenses completely useless. He added: (QUOTE) "Russia still has the greatest
nuclear potential in the world, but nobody listened to us."
The 9M730 Burevestnik Petrel, or Stormbringer in English,
was first tested in Kapustin Yar in June of 2016.
NATO quickly designated the missile as the SSC-X9 Skyfall.
Although the Skyfall missile gained global attention because of its
possible destructive capabilities, it is in no way something new.
In the 1960s, the US military worked on a cruise missile powered by a small and unstable atomic
reactor that was part of Project Pluto. It was called the Supersonic Low Altitude Missile,
or SLAM. The Pentagon canceled the project in 1964 because it was an
environmental nightmare. More importantly, it was too unreliable to be used effectively.
In the conference, Putin noted that: (QUOTE) "In late 2017, Russia successfully launched
its latest nuclear-powered missile at the Central training ground. During its flight,
the nuclear-powered engine reached its design capacity and provided the necessary propulsion."
In addition, the Russian president remarked that the construction of the Skyfall missile
was a direct response to the 2002 American withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty under the presidency of George Bush. The US argument for leaving the treaty was
because the Soviet Union failed to stop the SSC 8 cruise missile in the late 1980s.
Based on the scarce information provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Putin,
it appears that the dimensions of Skyfall are similar to those of the KH101 cruise missile.
However, other analysts suggest that Skyfall is
almost twice as significant because of the small nuclear reactor it houses.
And its wings are rooted on top of the fuselage rather than below, like the KH101. Other
sources also point out that Skyfall uses a ramjet engine that has radioactive exhaust.
During the March 2018 conference, footage of Skyfall was shown.
The missile was seen zig-zagging around mountains and missile defense systems with apparent ease.
As the missile is powered by a nuclear reactor, it could,
in theory, fly forever at hypersonic speeds.
The Skyfall Accident
There are several benefits and cons that come with a nuclear-powered missile.
First, it will have an unlimited range since nuclear fuel can be generated for decades.
This means that Skyfall could even circumnavigate the globe and strike from anywhere.
Second, Skyfall will be very fast. A nuclear-powered missile can fly 20 times
the speed of sound, or Mach 20. No defensive system could realistically take it down.
Another benefit of Skyfall would be its stealth capabilities,
as standard ICBMs follow a parabolic path. Once they expend all their fuel near the
edge of space, standard missiles glide down towards their objective,
which makes it easy for a defensive system to detect their flight path and take them down.
In contrast, with a nuclear-powered missile no such thing happens, as it can fly anywhere
and change its flight path at any time to avoid radars and other defensive systems.
Additionally, Skyfall can disperse a large quantity of radioactive fuel with its ramjet
engine, which is lethal for everything that stands on its path, as the air gets irradiated.
Nonetheless, this is also a disadvantage, as it became clear during an incident on August 9, 2019,
at the State Central Navy Testing Range at Nyonoksa near Severodvinsk in northern Russia.
Although the Russian government did not officially acknowledge the disaster, it is speculated that
scientists failed to recover a Skyfall rocket engine that exploded, causing seven fatalities.
The explosion also caused a 30-minute spike in radiation levels.
Reports indicated that radiation was 20 times higher than usual in the zone,
which has led some journalists to describe the catastrophe as a mini Chernobyl.
Putin held a ceremony months later to honor the men who perished during the accident.
He told the families of the deceased scientists that they lost their lives to:
(QUOTE) "Ensure Russia's sovereignty and security for decades to come."
Although Skyfall still has a long way to go, the US is not highly preoccupied,
as military intelligence believes that Russia will reach a dead end.
During an interview, Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project in Washington,
said that Skyfall will not give Russian an advantage.
And the August 2019 incident proves it.
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