• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Russia reportedly carries out test of nuclear-powered cruise missile; test yields strategic significance: Chinese experts

Global Times

By Liang Rui and Liu Xuanzun Published: Oct 26, 2025 10:03 PM

Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, said President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, media reported. Citing Russian media data, Chinese military affairs experts said that the missile's extraordinary range carries major strategic implications.

Putin said early Sunday that Russia has successfully carried out a test of its nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile Burevestnik, according to The Moscow Times.

Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin the test took place on Tuesday, with the missile flying 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) over the course of about 15 hours, the report said.

"It is truly a unique weapon, one that no other country in the world possesses," Putin was quoted by The Moscow Times as saying.

According to data released by Russian media, this cruise missile's range is very large. It can surpass the range of most operational cruise missiles, which is quite remarkable, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told Global Times on Sunday.

But we currently know very little about the missile's technical configuration. Its actual capabilities still need to be confirmed with more experimental details and other information, Wang said.

Besides that, Wang warned of risks of nuclear contamination from potential malfunctions or interception.

However, Wang still affirm the strategic significance of the Burevestnik. Traditionally, such missions were carried out by strategic bombers to maintain global deterrence. But if a missile alone can patrol tens of thousands of kilometers, striking anywhere or choosing not to strike at all, it becomes a new form of deterrence.

For Russia, given its current geopolitical position, that significance is particularly profound and explains its push for such next-generation weapons, Wang said.

The Burevestnik, whose name translates as "storm petrel", is a ground-launched, low-flying cruise missile that is not only capable of carrying a nuclear warhead but is also nuclear-powered. Putin first revealed the project in March 2018, Reuters reported in October 2023.

Its nuclear propulsion gives the missile much longer range than traditional turbojet or turbofan engines that are limited by how much fuel they can carry, Reuters said.

Citing a specialist Russian military journal in 2021, Reuters said the Burevestnik would have a notional range of up to 20,000 kilometers, so could be based anywhere in Russia and strike targets in the US. The same journal said the notional altitude of the missile was just 50-100 meters, much lower than a conventionally powered cruise missile, which would make it harder for air-defense radar to detect.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the Burevestnik is a "nontraditional weapon system."

The Burevestnik's nuclear propulsion theoretically allows unlimited range. In that sense, it's the first of its kind in the world, Song said.

Song added that unlike conventional cruise missiles powered by chemical propellants, the Burevestnik uses a nuclear propulsion system. This allows for rapid penetration of enemy defenses. It's a strategic weapon with considerable deterrent power one that could alter the balance of global nuclear forces to a large extent.