American researchers have announced that they have identified the likely location of Russia's latest intercontinental cruise missile with a nuclear warhead, the Burevestnik. This was reported by Reuters and UNN .
Details
This conclusion was reached after analyzing satellite data by Decker Eveleth and Jeffrey Lewis of the CNA analytical company and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
In particular, they refer to satellite images by the American Planet Labs. The photo shows a facility located 475 kilometers north of Moscow, near a nuclear warhead storage facility, and has the code names Vologda-20 and Chebsara.
According to Eveleth and Lewis, it includes nine launchers placed in three groups inside high berms designed to protect against external attack or accidental explosion.
This place is intended for a large stationary missile system, and the only large stationary missile system they (Russia - ed.) are currently developing is Burevestnik (SSC-X-9 Skyfall in NATO classification - ed.)
Addendum
Putin first announced the Burevestnik missile, which is supposed to have an unlimited range thanks to its nuclear engine, in 2018, touting it as "invulnerable.
But of its 13 known tests, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, 11 have failed. In 2019, the Burevestnik crashed into the Barents Sea, and an explosion occurred during the recovery mission, killing 7 people, including scientists from the nuclear center in Sarov.
Skyfall is a unique stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl, which poses a greater threat to Russia than to other countries
It is noted that in addition to a nuclear warhead, the missile carries nuclear fuel, can leave behind a radiation "exhaust" during flight, and its fall threatens to contaminate the area.
Recall
In the summer, The Telegraph reported that NATO is considering putting more nuclear weapons on alert and increasing the transparency of its nuclear arsenal to deter potential threats from Russia and China.