'Flying Chernobyl' or superweapon? Russia's nuclear-powered missile is plagued by failures, fueled by fear

Global Watch | 2025-10-29

Following Russia's recent announcement of a "successful final test" of its 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, President Vladimir Putin hailed it as a unique and invincible superweapon.

However, behind this triumphant Russian narrative lies a dark and secretive development program, one that has been marked by catastrophic failures, deadly accidents and deep skepticism from arms control experts.

The Burevestnik, known to NATO as SSC-X-9 Skyfall, represents a high-risk gamble that appears less about practical military capability and more about psychological warfare and nuclear "signaling" amid heightened geopolitical tensions.

The weapon's troubled past is its most telling feature. In August 2019, a mysterious explosion at a test range near Nyonoksa on the White Sea killed at least five nuclear engineers. The incident was followed by a brief, official cover-up before monitoring stations in the nearby city of Severodvinsk reported a radiation spike four to 16 times above normal levels. US officials assessed that the explosion occurred during a mission to recover a failed Burevestnik prototype from the seabed.

Environmental threat

This accident earned the missile the chilling nickname "Flying Chernobyl". The name is technically descriptive: the missile is powered by a small, active nuclear reactor. Experts have long warned that its propulsion system likely spews a trail of radioactive exhaust as it flies, posing an unconscionable environmental threat to any territory it crosses -- including Russia itself.

This extreme risk begs the question: Why is Russia building it? The nation's existing nuclear triad of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched missiles and strategic bombers is already more than sufficient to overwhelm any missile defense system.

Experts argue the Burevestnik adds no significant new capability to justify its immense cost and danger. Both the United States (with Project Pluto) and the Soviet Union explored similar nuclear-powered missile concepts during the Cold War. Both abandoned them as being too complex, too expensive and unacceptably hazardous to test or handle.

Furthermore, Putin's claim of "invincibility" is a stretch. While its nuclear engine gives it a theoretical "unlimited range" to take unpredictable paths, the missile is subsonic. This relatively slow speed means that if detected, it remains highly vulnerable to interception by modern fighter aircraft and air-defense networks.

Propaganda tool

This gap between boast and reality suggests the weapon's true purpose is psychological. The timing of the announcement is a clear act of "nuclear messaging." Amid a grinding war in Ukraine and rising tensions with the West, the Burevestnik serves as a stark reminder of Russia's nuclear might, intended to deter NATO from further involvement.

It is a propaganda tool for two audiences: for the domestic Russian public, it is a story of technological prowess and national pride. For the international community, it is designed to sow fear, create anxiety and promote division among Western allies about the potential costs of confronting Russia.

Ultimately, the Burevestnik is less a functional weapon of war and more a high-risk, high-cost symbol. Its primary "success" may be in the headlines it generates, not its battlefield performance. It represents a dangerous return to an era of nuclear brinkmanship where the threat itself is the weapon, and the greatest danger may be another deadly accident long before it is ever used in conflict.