American analysts Decker Eveleth and his colleague Jeffrey Lewis said they have identified the likely deployment site in Russia of a new cruise missile with a nuclear power plant and a 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear warhead (NATO designation SSC-X-9 Skyfall), which Russian President Vladimir Putin called "invincible," Reuters reports.
The experts analyzed satellite images taken on July 26 by Planet Labs. They claim that the potential deployment site for the new missile is located 475 km north of Moscow.
According to Eveleth, nine horizontal launch pads are currently under construction. They are connected by roads to buildings that, according to the analyst, will service the missiles and their components, as well as to an existing complex of five bunkers for storing nuclear warheads. Jeffrey Lewis agreed with his conclusions.
This site is designed for a large, fixed missile system, and the only large, fixed missile system they (Russia) are currently developing is Skyfall.
There are no official comments from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Embassy in Washington, or the Kremlin available to Reuters. In addition, the U.S. State Department, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center also declined to comment.
In 2020, the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center prepared a report that mentioned the Burevestnik. Experts pointed out that if the new missile is adopted, Moscow will receive a "unique weapon with intercontinental range."
As Reuters writes, citing data from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the Burevestnik has a bad reputation. Since 2016, there have been at least 13 tests, of which only two were partially successful. Some experts note that the missile does not meet safety requirements.
Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses a greater threat to Russia than to other countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Burevestnik in March 2018. He stated that the missile would "fly at low altitudes," have a virtually unlimited range, an unpredictable flight path, and be "invulnerable" to current and future defense systems.
Read more on the topic:
Relentless Burevestnik: what is known about Russia's unlimited-range cruise missile
Bulava sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile adopted by the Russian Armed Forces
