Russia first tested the cruise missile 9M730 Burevestnik: it is a weapon that, according to the Russian Government, is capable of bypass any air defense systemboth present and future. This is also possible thanks to an unpredictable flight pattern and the ability to hit targets at very long distanceswhich would make it a weapon that can also be used outside the context of the war against Ukraine. The head of the Russian armed forces Valery Gerasimov said that during the test, which began on October 21, the missiles traveled for approximately 14,000 kmstaying in the air for 15 hours.
From a technical point of view the Burevestnik (translated as “storm bird” and renamed by NATO SSC-X-9 Skyfall ) is a cruise missile – that is, equipped with an engine and wings so as to be steerable – surface-to-surface along 9 meters which travels at very low altitudes (in the order of tens to hundreds of meters above the ground) and which is not only at nuclear propulsion, but it is also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The weapon went into production in 2018 and, in reality, it seems that key tests have already been carried out in 2023 to confirm the effectiveness of the weapon. While the Russian president Vladimir Putin would have declared that this weapon of war “has no equal in the world”, it is right to point out that all the information comes from Russia itself and, at the moment, is not verified by third-party sources.
