Let's start with the essence of the message. "Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in russia of the 9M730 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President vladimir putin as "invincible." putin has said the weapon has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses," Reuters writes in its publication.
The russians are reportedly setting up these launch positions for the 9M730 Burevestnik near the nuclear weapons storage site Vologda-20, which is located 475 kilometers north of Moscow.
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Decker Eveleth, an analyst with the CNA research and analysis organization, found the satellite imagery and identified what he assessed are nine horizontal launch pads under construction. They are located in three groups inside high berms to shield them from attack or to prevent an accidental blast in one from detonating missiles in the others, he said.
"The identification of the missile's probable launch site suggests that russia is proceeding with its deployment after a series of tests in recent years marred by problems," said Eveleth and the second researcher, Jeffery Lewis, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Deploying the Burevestnik at Vologda would enable the russian military to store the nuclear-armed missiles in its bunkers, allowing for rapid launch readiness, according to Lewis and Eveleth.
Defense Express finds it necessary to highlight the following points. Until now, the russian "wonder weapon" designated 9M730 Burevestnik was mentioned in Western media only in October 2023, when russia demonstrated a series of measures that appeared to be preparations for another attempt to test this missile.
The russians claim that the tests were supposedly successful, but there is no objective data on this, just as there is no objective data on the overall status of this development. Due to the lack of objective data, it is also impossible to discuss in detail the characteristics that the russian 9M730 Burevestnik might possess.
The russians claim that this missile supposedly has an "unlimited" flight range, with launch using a solid-fuel booster and the nuclear power system supposed to activate during flight. Western analysts, in turn, state that the Burevestnik allegedly has a flight range of only 3,000 kilometers, but the basis for this claim is also not entirely clear.
The only additional information currently available about the 9M730 Burevestnik is that the russians have publicly released images of the transport-launch container and the missile itself, supposedly taken in 2018. It is noted that the missile has a fuselage length of no less than 12 meters, but the launch mass is not specified.
Against this backdrop, the fear among Western analysts regarding the russian "wonder weapon" designated 9M730 Burevestnik is unclear, as there is currently no objective data on the development's stage of readiness.
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