Overview

• Commercial satellite images show stacks of shipping containers, cranes, helicopters, and shelter movements at the Pankovo launch site since late July.
• Defense Internet notices posted by Russia on the FAA NOTAM service designate August 9–22 as a potential launch window over the Barents Sea region.
• A U.S. Air Force WC-135R nuclear-monitoring aircraft has flown near Russia’s northwest bases to gather data on possible propulsion tests.
• Independent groups cite only two partial successes among 13 known Burevestnik trials and note a 2019 explosion that killed five specialists.
• Observers suggest the near-term test could be intended as a deterrent message ahead of Putin’s talks with President Trump in Alaska.