Newspaper refers to photos from the area of Pankovo on Novaya Zemlya. Aircraft and vehicle movements at the site suggest a test of the weapon is either being prepared or has recently been conducted, according to their analysis.
American surveillance planes have also been tracked in the area for the past two weeks, and warnings have been sent out that the airspace around the test field must be avoided.
The cruise missile in question has been named Burevestnik. Few details are known, but it is believed to launch using a conventional rocket engine, before a nuclear reactor on board is started and takes over propulsion.
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According to the American organization Nuclear Threat Initiative, which works for nuclear disarmament, there have been 13 tests of the weapon between 2017 and 2019. None of them should have been successful.
US officials have stated that a Burevestnik missile that crashed during a test in 2019 exploded during the attempt to salvage the wreckage. Seven people are said to have been killed.
The reactor on board should, in theory, give the rocket a very long range. Whether it has been tried since 2019 is unclear, but according to American sources, the most successful, known test is a journey of 35 kilometers.
Daryl G. Kimball of the Arms Control Association says the cruise missile is experimental and many years away from being used in operational service.
2023-10-02 20:44:15
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