About a year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced the development of a promising strategic cruise missile with a nuclear power plant, providing it with almost unlimited flight range. In the future, the rocket, dubbed "Petrel", has repeatedly become the subject of new statements by officials and various news. To date, the amount of information available allows us to draw up a fairly detailed picture and present the state of affairs in the current project.
Despite the known restrictions, officials from the highest echelons of power have already managed to announce a lot of information about the "Petrel" and supplement it with some details. In addition, the Department of Defense published videos showing the production and testing of missiles. Also, a certain contribution to the total amount of data was made by the media, which managed to obtain certain information from their sources.
Work progress
In his last year's address to the Federal Assembly, V. Putin spoke not only about the very existence of the new rocket, but also about the work that had taken place. According to him, at the end of 2017, an experimental rocket was successfully launched. The power plant has developed the set power and provided the necessary traction. These statements were confirmed by video footage of the rocket in flight. In a recent message, on February 20, the President again mentioned the Burevestnik project: the product is being successfully tested.
At the end of January, there were reports of a new test launch. According to the foreign press, this was the first launch this year and the 13th in the framework of the entire program. The launch is said to have been partially successful, but no details have been provided. At the same time, foreign sources know that the previous tests took place about a year ago - in February 2018. Development work continues, but foreign media cannot name the timing of their completion.
On February 16, the TASS news agency, citing its sources, announced the completion of part of the tests. It was alleged that in January, at one of the test sites, the most important stage of testing a nuclear power plant for the Burevestnik was completed. Tests have confirmed the declared characteristics of the product, capable of providing an almost unlimited flight range.
In the second half of February, a number of publications appeared in the foreign and domestic press dedicated to the alleged impact of the Burevestnik rocket on the environmental situation. Assumptions were made about the specific features of the operation of a nuclear power plant capable of leaving a radioactive trail behind a rocket. At the same time, the whole discussion was at the level of versions and assumptions, since there is still no exact data on this topic. As a result, there were different assessments, including the opposite. Some publications wrote about significant emissions, while others reminded of the lack of data on noticeable changes in the background radiation, which indicates the relative safety of the rocket.
According to the latest reports, work on the Burevestnik project is ongoing and should come to an end in the coming years. The power plant has been tested, and other tests have been carried out, which brings the moment of adopting the rocket into service. However, the exact timing of this has not yet been announced.
Product appearance
Official announcements and a few videos allow you to roughly imagine the appearance of the "Petrel" product. At the same time, the characteristics of such a rocket remain unknown, and it remains to rely only on various estimates. Some of these estimates look quite plausible against the background of known data.
Last year, the Ministry of Defense showed the workshop of one of the enterprises, which assembles a new type of missiles. Products are placed in transport and launch containers of polygonal cross-section with lifting end caps. A rocket launch was also shown, apparently using a solid-propellant launch engine. They showed a rocket in flight - but similar footage appeared before.
The Burevestnik is a land-based cruise missile equipped with a fundamentally new power plant. The missile is built on the basis of a glider with a fuselage of a characteristic shape characteristic of modern aircraft weapons. A high-positioned wing and tail with a ventral keel are used. On the sides of the fuselage, the nozzles of the propulsion power plant are noticeable, which allows us to make assumptions about the layout of the product.
The main power plant is of the greatest interest in the project. It is a kind of version of an air-jet engine and is built on the basis of a compact nuclear reactor of sufficient power. Probably, thermal energy from the reactor is supplied to heat exchangers in the side parts of the fuselage. The air entering through the air intakes heats up and flows out through the nozzle. Such an engine can use a compressor and a turbine similar to those of a turbojet engine.
However, the exact information about the architecture of the power plant, its characteristics, etc. have not been officially published. The version about the use of a WFD with a reactor as a source of fuel energy so far looks the most plausible. According to media reports, the rocket is subsonic, which indicates the possible characteristics of the propulsion system.
The Burevestnik needs a control and homing system capable of successfully hitting a target after a long flight at an ultra-long range. Probably, for this, combined systems based on satellite and inertial navigation, as well as correction for the peculiarities of the underlying terrain, can be used. Weapons of this kind are designed to destroy important objects with previously known coordinates, which makes it possible to abandon the seeker with the ability to independently search for a target.
A number of unique features and capabilities make the Burevestnik a strategic weapon. In this regard, it should be expected that this missile will receive a special warhead, similar to those used on other domestic cruise missiles. The use of a conventional warhead is possible, but does not make much sense.
The shown test launches were carried out from a ground installation using transport and launch containers. Probably, later, a self-propelled launcher based on one of the special chassis will enter service. From the published materials it follows that the Burevestnik product is noticeably larger than the existing air, sea and underwater cruise missiles. Such weapons are unlikely to be able to enter service with existing ships, submarines and missile bombers.
However, the use on land will not have a negative impact on the combat qualities and potential of the missile. With an almost unlimited flight range, the Burevestnik will be able to fly from the launch position to the country's borders, and then go on a given course to the target - not necessarily direct and short.
It is believed that unlimited flight range will provide the highest combat effectiveness. The route for the missile can be laid taking into account the location of the enemy's air defense and without the usual restrictions. In fact, the Burevestnik will be able to approach the target along any trajectory and with minimal risks. In addition, such a missile can become a kind of loitering munition: during a threatened period, such missiles will have to remain in the air, awaiting a command to attack or recall.
Timing issue
The obvious question is the timing of the completion of the necessary tests and the adoption of the Burevestnik rocket into service. Unfortunately, exact data on this score are not yet available. However, work on the project has been going on for a long time, which may indicate their imminent completion and the start of the supply of weapons to the troops.
Last year, Izvestia reported that the development of a promising cruise missile with a nuclear power plant began in 2001. Several domestic scientific and design organizations were involved in the work. The reason for the start of a new project is the US withdrawal from the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems. This means that the future "Burevestnik" was supposed to provide the Russian army with the required striking power in the context of the development of the missile defense system of a potential enemy.
Over the next years, until 2018, work on the new rocket was carried out behind closed doors. Any information about her was not published, and rumors about the possible appearance of such weapons appeared extremely rarely and did not receive wide distribution. Only on March 1 of last year, the existence of a new project was first confirmed at the official level, and by that time some tests of experimental products had already been completed.
According to the data of the foreign and domestic press, more than a dozen test launches have already been carried out, some of which have been recognized as successful. The tests of the nuclear power plant of the rocket were also completed. This means that the process of checking and debugging may be nearing completion. Thus, the adoption of the "Petrel" into service is not far off, although the exact dates remain unknown.
The project of the cruise missile of unlimited range "Burevestnik" has already gained wide popularity and is actively discussed not only in our country. In all likelihood, the Russian leadership will continue to observe the required secrecy regarding the technical and organizational details of the work, but will not make secrets from the main news. Therefore, we should expect that the completion of development and acceptance into service will be announced openly and without any significant delays.
