Overview
- Russia’s top general said the Oct. 21 flight covered about 14,000 km over roughly 15 hours using nuclear propulsion and included vertical and horizontal maneuvers.
- During a Kremlin-released video on Oct. 26, Vladimir Putin called the test decisive and directed commanders to classify the system and ready infrastructure for service.
- The missile is the 9M730 Burevestnik, NATO-designated SSC-X-9 Skyfall, a ground-launched, low-flying cruise missile that is nuclear-capable and intended to be nuclear-powered.
- The program has an uneven record that includes prior test failures and a 2019 recovery accident that killed specialists and involved a radiation release.
- Western experts question the weapon’s operational value, citing detectability at subsonic speeds, potential radioactive emissions, uncertain real-world utility, and implications for arms control following recent Russian nuclear-force drills.