Russia claims to have successfully tested a low-flying nuclear-powered cruise missile
Artist’s rendering of Burevestnik. Click for source.
According to claims coming from Russia’s state-run press yesterday, it has successfully tested a low-flying nuclear-powered cruise missile, dubbed Burevestnik (“Storm Petrol” in English), that uses a nuclear-powered rocket engine.
Few technical details have been released. The flight itself supposedly lasted fifteen hours during which the missile flew about 8,700 miles, making its average speed about 580 miles per hour. That speed is a little higher than the cruising speed of most airplanes. According to Russia’s state-run press, Burevestnik flies at an altitude of 80 to 300 feet and has an unlimited range.
It appears the missile captures air as it flies, compresses it and then sends it through the nuclear reactor to be heated, which when released as exhaust provides the thrust. If true, this missile is the equivalent of an autonomous airplane that can fly below radar detection anywhere on the globe, and thus a major threat to Russia’s enemies (which is essentially now the whole world).
At the same time, Russia’s ability to design, build and complete any high-tech project has been suspect for decades. Its government makes a lot of promises, but has almost never delivered.
Regardless, this technology bears watching. Expect the defense industry to use this story as a wedge with Congress to get more funding.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Artist’s rendering of Burevestnik. Click for source.
According to claims coming from Russia’s state-run press yesterday, it has successfully tested a low-flying nuclear-powered cruise missile, dubbed Burevestnik (“Storm Petrol” in English), that uses a nuclear-powered rocket engine.
Few technical details have been released. The flight itself supposedly lasted fifteen hours during which the missile flew about 8,700 miles, making its average speed about 580 miles per hour. That speed is a little higher than the cruising speed of most airplanes. According to Russia’s state-run press, Burevestnik flies at an altitude of 80 to 300 feet and has an unlimited range.
It appears the missile captures air as it flies, compresses it and then sends it through the nuclear reactor to be heated, which when released as exhaust provides the thrust. If true, this missile is the equivalent of an autonomous airplane that can fly below radar detection anywhere on the globe, and thus a major threat to Russia’s enemies (which is essentially now the whole world).
At the same time, Russia’s ability to design, build and complete any high-tech project has been suspect for decades. Its government makes a lot of promises, but has almost never delivered.
Regardless, this technology bears watching. Expect the defense industry to use this story as a wedge with Congress to get more funding.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
This is ingenious, or diabolical, depending.
I won’t re-link to all the nuclear rocket engine research already on the books (and paid for) from the 1960’s & 70’s, and I’m not an engineer, but sounds perfectly doable by downsizing established tech.
And they don’t need any radiation shielding.
This can’t be cost-effective however, for anything other than delivering nuclear weapons.
Defense Industry– I’m firmly of the belief, we perpetual pay for research already completed in the past, and we lack the basic industry to mass produce common analog weapons.
“ Expect the defense industry to use this story as a wedge with Congress to get more funding.”
My first thought when I heard of this.
I wonder if this method could be used to launch an object into orbit – a possible substitute for carrying large amounts of conventional rocket fuel to achieve escape velocity?
Could this be combined with the spin launch or magnetic rail launch technology for initial launch velocity?
The Russians have been working on this tech for awhile – perhaps even since Soviet times – as was also the case with the huge nuclear-powered torpedo Russia now claims to have in service as well. A couple of years back there were reports that a previous test flight of this cruise missile thingy came to grief somewhere on Russian territory and caused a significant forest fire.
It sounds scary, but it isn’t any faster than conventional subsonic cruise missiles and must – based on its fundamental engineering principles – produce a truly hellacious in-flight thermal signature. Given all of the thermal signature detection-and-tracking sats being put up by SDA, and even more to come for Golden Dome, the thing should be easily detectable enroute, especially coming in via the Arctic or over an ocean.
It could approach US territory from any direction, but would probably be based only on Russian national territory, given its unlimited range. No need for at-sea basing on subs in order to get close. Given the quite checkered Soviet/Russian history with both nuclear subs having shielded power reactors and their weaponry over the decades, keeping multiple unshielded mini-reactors aboard would seem guaranteed to revive those old Cold War-era jokes about being able to tell Northern Fleet sailors because they glow in the dark. I also don’t much fancy the chances of uneventful launches from subs or surface vessels – neither of which Russia has in much abundance anyway.
The main downside of launching from Mother Russian territory, of course, is the greater time between launch and arrival at notional targets. That would be particularly true of any sent to fly circuitous routes aimed at “sneaking” in from south of the US rather than from the north. Given the low speed of these things they are utterly unsuitable as first strike weapons.
To deal with potential drone swarms and conventional cruise missiles of whatever speed, one presumes Golden Dome will provide for an all-azimuth expansion of the system of interceptor bases the US operated along our northern border during the early Cold War to deal with Russian strategic bombers. This new Russian thingy would be just one more subsonic target for same.
Rather than the piloted supersonic Century-series fighter/interceptors of the 50s and 60s, it would make better economic sense to rely on lots of UAV hypersonic interceptors based on vehicles like Stratolaunch’s Talon series but armed with air-to-air missiles. There are any number of “NewDef” companies who could very quickly build such things using extant rocket engines. Anduril comes to mind. And Anduril is already building its own updated version of Ford’s Willow Run plant in Ohio called Arsenal 1. For a Sidewinder or an AMRAAM carried by such a craft, this new Russian thingy would be a gimme.
The defense industry – both vintage players and newbies – are already salivating over Golden Dome so I’m not sure there is any extra drool to be seen strictly in reaction to this Russian development.
jburn,
In a word – no. None of the experimental nuclear rocket engines built by the US and USSR during the Cold War were capable of lifting even themselves from the ground. They were always intended for strictly in-space use once they were placed there by conventional chemically-propelled rockets.
And this Russian thingy is not even powered by a rocket engine but an air-breathing jet engine. Small wonder it is designed to be both low-altitude and subsonic. Air is thickest close to the ground and far less thrust is required to maintain subsonic speed than supersonic or hypersonic. Even were this engine capable of the needed thrust, higher speeds would simply make the thermal engineering of the vehicle airframe near impossible. Supersonic and hypersonic aircraft only operate at extreme altitudes where the air is thin enough to prevent instant immolation from thermal friction/shock loads.
Could something other than conventional chemical rockets provide initial impetus? For an actual nuclear rocket, possibly. But an air-breathing engine will asphyxiate at very high altitudes and in space so what would be the point? The engine under discussion here is not a rocket.
Nuclear Propulsion in Space: Project Nerva
https://youtu.be/vs3zNwXhzSA
23:47
It seems to me that this is likely a turbojet with a vey low pressure ratio and fairly low turbine inlet temperature compared to conventional turbojets or turbofans. By not having to carry fuel onboard, a low efficiency can be used that bypasses the need for high compression as in conventional engines. Possibly as little as two stages of compressor and a single stage turbine. It is possible that the thermal signature could be quite low. Not crying wolf, just not dismissing possibilities.
These opinions are from when I was looking at air-turborocket numbers some years back. Low pressure ratios were normal for them. Expect a horrible T/W ratio.