Russia has tested a nuclear-powered missile and could revoke a global atomic test ban, Putin says

jimmydoreisalefty@lemmus.org to World News@lemmy.world – 125 points – Russia has tested a nuclear-powered missile and could revoke a global atomic test ban, Putin says
apnews.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmus.org/post/1022137

Video on subject, by Hindustan Times:

Russia's Shakes West With Next-Gen Nuclear Missile Amid Putin's Big Nuke Warning | Watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TL1nyk0Kc

“We conducted the last successful test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered global-range cruise missile,” he said without elaborating. His statement was the first announcement of a successful test of the Burevestnik, which translates as “Storm Petrel.” It was first mentioned by Putin in 2018.

Many observers have remained skeptical, arguing such a weapon could be difficult to handle and pose an environmental threat. The U.S. and the Soviet Union worked on nuclear-powered rocket engines during the Cold War, but they eventually shelved the projects, considering them too hazardous.

The Burevestnik reportedly suffered an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a Russian navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two servicemen and resulting in a brief spike in radioactivity that fueled fears in a nearby city.

Russia has reportedly used the Arctic Novaya Zemlya archipelago where the Soviet Union last tested a nuclear weapon to build facilities for testing the Burevestnik.

In the speech, Putin noted the United States has signed but not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, while Russia has signed and ratified it. He argued that Russia could “mirror the stand taken by the U.S.”

Putin’s statement comes amid widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine after the Kremlin sent troops into the country. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favor of resuming the tests.

One of them, Sergei Karaganov, a top Russian foreign affairs expert who advises Putin’s Security Council, has argued that Moscow should ramp up its nuclear threats to “break the will of the West” or even launch a limited nuclear strike on NATO allies in Europe if the West fails to stop supporting Ukraine.

“There is no situation in which anything would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state,” he said. “I think that no person of sober mind and clear memory could have an idea to use nuclear weapons against Russia.”

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Ah yes, and it's the US and NATO who are the biggest threat to the world, aren't they..

We tested our stuff early last month, looks to me like a measuring contest.

Reminded me of the drama with North Korean missile tests near Japan.

Air Force tests nuclear-capable long-range missile [09/06/23]

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4189949-air-force-tests-nuclear-capable-long-range-missile/

Nuclear capable conventional missile and nuclear powered cruise missile are 2 very different things

It's almost like saying "you're testing bombs" just because the truck that can carry bombs got a test drive around the parking lot to make sure it can still run.

Does the US threaten to use its nuclear weapons against its adversaries?

No but we do threaten hurricanes with nukes...

nuclear-capable long-range missile

This is not a "nuclear powered missile" - that's just a normal ICBM.

Russia threatens some brand new off the wall nuclear power weapon like this every couple of years, remember the super deadly powerful nuclear torpedo?

They don't have shit

I don’t necessarily think this is brand new. Cold War era thinking was nutty, basically “hey let’s shove a reactor into everything.” We had the SLAM program and Project Pluto in the US during the 50s and 60s, I’m sure the USSR had something similar then too; probably a case of dusting off 60-70 year old plans and seeing if they still carry weight.

They do have nuclear torpedos and have for a very long time. The newest autonomous super long range coast destroyer may not be real but nuclear torpedos are a documented thing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_torpedo

It's not even arguable, we inspect a number of Russian nuclear torpedos as part of a nuclear treaty. It's one of the few super weapons Russia has that we can say for certain are real.

Are they really super weapons if they’re not that effective?

Super weapons are realistically just weapons not reasonably attainable by most nations. Ie. Nuclear weapons and biologicals.

I'll begin to worry with the mistresses and children of Russian oligarchs all leave their lives of western luxury and return to Russia. Too many Russian elite are living it up in the west for nuclear weapons to be a credible threat.

Aren't they the safest? If Russia attacks, the West might strike Russia, not London.

to memory comes previous anouncement of supersonic missile... which ended up being destroyed over Ukraine with reasonable degree of accuracy. So yeah, same posturing from russia but k owing what we know after (almost) 2 grueling years in Ukraine it's just that - posturing. They failed to attract talent but they've succeeded in scarying or destrying talent. So their only option for technological advance is espionage. Even then they'd need high caliber specialists to replicate whatever has been stolen. What they are really "good at" is brute force and dirty tricks. But any technological superiority is off the table.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Little is known about the Burevestnik, which was code-named Skyfall by NATO, and many Western experts have been skeptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.

When Putin first revealed that Russia was working on the weapon in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, he claimed it would have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe undetected by missile defense systems.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union worked on nuclear-powered rocket engines during the Cold War, but they eventually shelved the projects, considering them too hazardous.

The Burevestnik reportedly suffered an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a Russian navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two servicemen and resulting in a brief spike in radioactivity that fueled fears in a nearby city.

Putin’s statement comes amid widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine after the Kremlin sent troops into the country.

One of them, Sergei Karaganov, a top Russian foreign affairs expert who advises Putin’s Security Council, has argued that Moscow should ramp up its nuclear threats to “break the will of the West” or even launch a limited nuclear strike on NATO allies in Europe if the West fails to stop supporting Ukraine.

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