The fate of the Burevestnik
"Flying Chernobyl"
We are talking about the product 9M730 "Petrel" according to the NATO classification SSC-X-9 Skyfall, which is being developed by the Novator Design Bureau (Yekaterinburg). When in 2018 the Russian president first announced the development in Russia of such weapons, Western experts unanimously argued that it was fiction, "Putin's cartoons."
But in two and a half years, the means of objective control of Western, mainly, of course, American intelligence services that monitor the testing of the latest Russian weapons, have made a revolution in consciousness in the West, a radical change in emotions from irony to anxiety, if not more - banal fear. Now they have to accept the Burevestnik as a reality. Skyfall has not yet entered service, but, apparently, this is a matter of the near future.
President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense say that Russia already has a 9M730 Burevestnik missile, supposedly powered by a pulsed nuclear air-jet engine (PuYaVRD) similar to the classic PuVRD. But only a small-sized active zone is placed instead of the combustion chamber. Graphite, possibly more modern materials, is probably used as a moderator, and compacted atmospheric air is used as a coolant.
In fairness, the Americans were the first to try to create a strategic cruise missile with a nuclear power plant. Vought SLAM (Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile - low-altitude supersonic guided missile) - a project of an American strategic cruise missile with a nuclear ramjet engine, unlimited range. The Vought SLAM was a canard aerodynamically designed cruise missile.
Its design has been specially adapted for extreme flight conditions at design speeds up to M=3 at an altitude of no more than 300 meters. The rocket body, which had to withstand high thermal and aerodynamic loads, was supposed to be made of high-strength steel. The structure of the rocket was designed so strong that the designers jokingly referred to it as a "flying crowbar".
Although the prototype SLAM rocket was never built, the estimated flight speed at an altitude of 30 feet (000 m) was supposed to reach Mach 9, and the flight range at this altitude was supposed to be 100 km. At low altitudes (4,2 meters) and a speed of Mach 182 - a range of 000 km.
The main difference between the Russian Burevestnik and the American SLAM is the equipment of its PuYAVRD, and not a direct-flow nuclear VRD, the presence of an air valve in the PuVRD, the purpose of which is to prevent the reverse movement of the working fluid forward in the direction of the vehicle, which would negate jet thrust. In a ramjet, this valve is not needed, since the reverse movement of the working fluid in the engine tract is prevented by a “barrier” of pressure at the inlet to the combustion chamber, created during the compression of the working fluid at supersonic (more than Mach 3) speeds.
In a PWRJ, due to low subsonic speeds (Mach 0,9–1,0), the initial compression is too low, and the pressure increase in the combustion chamber, in a classic PWR, or in the core in a PWR, is achieved due to heating of the working fluid in a constant volume, limited by the walls of the chamber, the valve, and the inertia of the gas column in the long nozzle of the engine.
In an interview, French military expert Corentin Brustlin noted:
“A nuclear power plant removes restrictions on the amount of fuel, which allows the missile to use trajectories that are not tracked by the enemy and strike at weakly protected objects. Naturally, the presence of such a missile will make it possible to break through the enemy's anti-missile defense system.
In the increasingly complicated world military-political situation, this will become a very serious trump card.”
In the increasingly complicated world military-political situation, this will become a very serious trump card.”
At first, the West was dominated by a rather skeptical attitude towards the prospects of the Russian missile. By the summer of 2020, it was replaced by wariness. For example, the US President's Special Representative for Arms Control Marshall Billingsley said that such a weapon should not exist at all, since it is a "flying Chernobyl".
Then, in September 2020, a statement was made by the head of British military intelligence, Lieutenant General Jim Hockenhull. He stressed that the Burevestnik missile is capable of staying in the air for an almost unlimited time. This allows you to inflict unexpected strikes on targets.
The 9M730 Burevestnik missile will be equipped only with the SBC, no “conventional” option is provided, for obvious reasons. Based on the results of work carried out in the USSR (Russia) in the 70–90s, jointly by teams of nuclear scientists RFNC-VNIIEF, KB-11 (Arzamas-16) in Sarov and RFNC-VNIITF, KB-1011 (Chelyabinsk-70) in Snezhinsk As regards the missile weapons systems of the Navy and the Strategic Missile Forces, including ammunition of small, medium and high power class, an essentially unprecedented qualitative growth was achieved in their main characteristics that determine combat effectiveness. Significantly, at times, the specific energy of nuclear warheads has increased. For small and medium-sized ammunition, it increased from 1 kt/kg to 5,25 kt/kg.
Modern Russian thermonuclear munitions, created already in the 2000–2010s. – 100 kg small class (150–250 kt) and 200 kg medium class (500 kt), 400 kg high class (2 Mt) power, designed to meet modern requirements for increased safety at all stages of the life cycle, reliability, security in abnormal conditions during operation and unauthorized actions. This is ensured by the first applied inertial adaptive detonation system in combination with the sensors and devices used in the automation.
At the same time, the level of anti-missile defense was increased. According to the calculations of the leading American specialist Hans M. Christensen, it will take the Americans at least 20 years, with appropriate funding, to reach the same level of power density of nuclear charges as the Russians. In principle, any of these new charges can be installed on a rocket.
A campaign has been organized in the Western press to discredit the latest Russian weapons; in the information war, all means are good, and not only in the Western, but also in ours. Moreover, not only “couch experts” and bloggers are involved, but also authoritative heavyweights.
Here is what Vladimir Zinovievich Dvorkin writes in his article “Russia's New Weapon: Benefit or Harm” (NVO No. 29, 2021):
“... in no real scenario, the Burevestnik cruise missile will not be able to make any contribution to the potential of Russia's nuclear deterrence, provided by the existing triad of strategic nuclear forces. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the probability of a successful flight of cruise missiles with a much shorter flight duration compared to the Burevestnik is noticeably lower compared to weapons in the strategic nuclear forces.
And he also writes:
"Poseidon" and "Petrel" complexes.
Their trials are at an early stage, and the terms of their possible adoption into service will most likely be outside the period of validity of the extended START-3 Treaty. But their inclusion in a hypothetically possible new treaty could be considered subject to the existence in the United States of similar systems or other new models that are subject to control and do not violate the overall balance of deterrence potentials.
To date, the possibility of achieving a solution to this problem seems extremely difficult, rather even impossible.”
Their trials are at an early stage, and the terms of their possible adoption into service will most likely be outside the period of validity of the extended START-3 Treaty. But their inclusion in a hypothetically possible new treaty could be considered subject to the existence in the United States of similar systems or other new models that are subject to control and do not violate the overall balance of deterrence potentials.
To date, the possibility of achieving a solution to this problem seems extremely difficult, rather even impossible.”
That is, if the Americans do not have similar models of weapons or they are not able to create them in the foreseeable future, then we must abandon them. Otherwise, the Americans will refuse to renew START-3 or sign a new treaty.
Do we need such a treaty that will be beneficial only to the United States and limit our capabilities?
It is Poseidon and Burevestnik that are subjected to the greatest criticism in the Western press. The most effective of the recently created. The Poseidon cannot be intercepted or destroyed by modern means of destruction of the US Navy, the Burevestnik cannot be detected and intercepted after launch by modern radar and optoelectronic means of detection and target designation. Rocket 9M730 "Petrel", like a ghost, appears for a moment and disappears just as instantly. It can only be detected at the moment of launch, while the starting solid-propellant booster is working for this time, no more than 3 seconds from specialized DSP-4 satellites.
But, unlike ICBMs, they will immediately lose it. And they quite successfully detect and track ICBMs due to the long active phase in time from 180 to 300 seconds. Enough to build a mathematical model of the flight path. Not surprisingly, they were originally intended to detect ICBM launches.
In contrast to the “ordinary KR” of the Tomahawk or Caliber type, whose cruising flight takes place at an altitude of 6 meters, both at one and the other, only the final section of the route (about 000 km at the Tomahawk) passes at altitudes from 80 feet (100 meters) to 30 feet (200 meters) depending on the terrain in the target area. Such a flight profile, it is called - High-Low (high-low altitude), is a classic for all KR from anti-ship to strategic. For subsonic and transonic cruise missiles, the optimal cruising flight altitude (flight level) is 60–6 meters. At this altitude, the rocket travels the longest path with the least fuel consumption.
Examples of missiles flying at this echelon are the already mentioned "Tomahawk" and "Caliber" of all modifications, strategic air-based missile launchers X-101/102, X-555, AGM-86B ALCM, as well as transonic anti-ship P-500 (4M77) " Basalt, P-1000 (3M70) Vulkan, P-35 (4M44) Progress, etc. 2,5 meters. It is at this altitude that the anti-ship missiles P-3,0 (12M000) "Granit", P-14 (000M700) "Onyx" and strategic nuclear ASMP, ASMP-A (ASN3G) pass most of the way. For hypersonic missiles (with flight speeds from M-45 and above), the flight level of 800–3 meters is considered optimal.
The range or "radius" of the Tomahawk missiles, officially for the conventional version, is 1 English miles (000 km) (RGM / UGM-1E TLAM-E (Tomahawk Block IV) with a fuel reserve of 600 kg) - this value is "operational" range, which takes into account such factors as maneuvering around protected areas, deviations from the course to fly over a predetermined territory (correction areas) for updating information in inertial guidance systems, vertical maneuvering to avoid obstacles, fuel requirements, flying at higher than optimal speeds through protected areas and low-level flight.
The straight-line “aerodynamic” flight range of the Tomahawk (RGM/UGM-109A, with 650 kg of fuel) is about 4 km, provided that the entire flight takes place at the optimum altitude of 300 feet (20 meters) (fuel consumption for DTRD three times lower than at low and ultra-low altitudes) at cruising speed - 000 miles / hour (6 km / h).
Burevestnik conducts the entire flight route, regardless of its length, whether it be 10 km or 000 km, at altitudes from 20 to 000 meters at a cruising speed of about 25–100 km/h. Probably, the maximum speed, due to the specifics of the operation of the PuYaVRD, can reach up to 800–850 km/h. Engine thrust, most likely: about 1–100 kg. Which is quite enough for a subsonic missile launcher with a launch weight of 1–300 kg. Yes, the rocket does not need to fly at high altitude, it unmasks the CD.
The Burevestnik is devoid of the main drawback of all existing strategic missiles, both subsonic, supersonic, and even hypersonic. They are easily detected on the cruising sections of the flight. Long before reaching the goal. Burevestnik has an almost unlimited range reserve, which allows it to bypass air defense zones (A2 / AD) without any problems, enter the airspace of a potential enemy from any direction. In the US, for example, from the Mexican border. It should be noted that there is no continuous radar field over the USA. From the word "absolutely". As such, there is no air defense.
The fleet of fighter-interceptors is total of 240 F-22A, F-15C, F-16C aircraft. The comical events of the last week with the participation of Chinese balloons only confirm the absence of the country's air defense as such.
In the USSR, for example, at the end of the 1980s, there was a systemic air defense system with a continuous radar field over the entire territory, controlled by 800 radars of various types, 2 interceptor fighters and 500 missile launchers were available. It is worth noting that after the American authorities realized the threat in the late 10s and early 000s from a large number of Soviet ICBMs, it was decided to abandon powerful air defense, including a large number of air defense systems deployed on the territory of the country.
Airspace control is badly organized
According to former US Secretary of Defense Schlesinger, “If they cannot protect their cities from strategic missiles, then it is not worth even trying to create protection against a small number of bombers. aviation THE USSR". There is only a more or less continuous radar field of civil air traffic. Very specific, I must say. Airspace control is organized very badly, especially for unknown targets not identified by transponders. Small targets flying at ultra-low altitudes (less than 60 meters) are not seen by civilian airfield radars at all.
This is often used by owners of unregistered small aircraft. Of which in the United States, according to police estimates, there are tens of thousands. They clog and complicate the monitoring of US airspace to such an extent that, most likely, deliberately monitoring airspace at ultra-low altitudes is carried out formally, that is, in no way.
At the moment, the NORAD system is engaged in radar control of the air situation over the territory of the continental United States and Canada only for ballistic targets in the interests of missile defense. To control the airspace of aerodynamic targets, mobile radars are used, up to 12 air defense fighters and 2–3 AWACS aircraft are constantly in the air. That's the whole air defense of the US territory.
A standard NATO airborne early warning aircraft - AWACS E-3C / D / F / G will detect a Tomahawk or Caliber at a distance of 240 to 320 km, depending on the angle to the target and the altitude of its flight. But the "Petrel" at a distance of 40 to 100 km (depending on the real EPR of the rocket), if it is at the right time in the right place, and immediately loses it, Western experts estimate the EPR of the missile at the level of Kh-101 and AGM-129A from 0,01 (flank projection) to 0,001 m2 (frontal projection). The missile will only briefly strike on the radar screen and disappear, the operator has no choice but to take this splash for a flock of birds or a big wave. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack with a magnet, especially if you don't know where to look.
All these are theoretical estimates, in reality, in practice it is even worse. Suffice it to recall the episode that took place on March 11, 2022. The Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh UAV, launched by the crew of the 321st separate UAV squadron (Raukhovka village, Berezovsky district, Odessa region), flew over 550 kilometers from Ukraine to Croatia and, after losing a control signal, crashed when it ran out of fuel.
A press release from the Office of the President of Croatia quotes President Zoran Milanovic as saying that
"the aircraft entered Croatian airspace after more than 40 minutes of flight over Hungary undetected."
The drone then flew for seven minutes in Croatian airspace and crashed in the urban area of Jarun. The statement also said that the drone flew from the territory of Ukraine at a speed of more than 850 km / h at an altitude of 1 meters, crossed the airspace of Hungary and Croatia and crashed in the center of Zagreb.
According to the first investigative reports published in Croatia, the drone lost control signal and flew until it ran out of fuel. Meanwhile, Hungarian sources reported that it arrived in their airspace via Romania, again without being detected by air defense systems. The event is being treated as a serious incident and Croatia has launched an investigation to try to understand how an old Soviet-era drone was able to pass undetected through NATO airspace.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said it was clear that the drone came from Ukraine and entered Croatian airspace after flying over Hungarian territory. At this time, two AWACS E-3C aircraft patrolled in the airspace of Hungary, Romania and Croatia: American and British. Neither one nor the other saw a target with an RCS of more than 5 m2flying at an altitude of 1 meters without changing course and altitude (straight-line). There are questions. Is the AWACS E-300 capable of seeing small and low-altitude targets? And not only me. Here are some examples from social media. In general, it should be noted that there was a uniform panic in social networks then.
One of the Twitter clients under the nickname Vladimir Mrkša writes:
“How could this device fly over Romania, Hungary and Croatia without being intercepted? Hmm, you can’t say anything, “excellent”, however, NATO has air defense.”
He is echoed by a user with the nickname ASTA:
“Neither NATO AWACS nor AGS ground surveillance spotted this 15m drone during its 350 mile journey across multiple countries?! What would happen if it collapsed in the center of the city, killing dozens of people in the process?
9М730
The body of the 9M730 rocket is made using the Stealth technology, the cross section of the fuselage is an inverted trapezoid, the signal reflected from the rocket in the onboard projection goes under it, and does not return to the radar antennas, and this is at a flight altitude of 25-50 meters. "Zircon" due to the specifics of the laws of aerodynamic flight at hypersonic speeds is made of heat-resistant materials with a large number of fuselage elements and aerodynamic surfaces made of titanium and steel alloys, a design of straight lines and sharp corners.
In general, a solid, huge "corner reflector", according to the most conservative estimates, an RCS of about 15 m2, such an object, and even flying at an altitude of up to 30 km - the E-3C will detect at a distance of 500 to 600 km. The Zircon's only advantage is its speed, meaning it's easy to spot, but hard to shoot down.
The only reliable way to detect the Burevestnik rocket is by its radioactive trace that it will leave on its way - the isotopes of iodine 131, ruthenium 103, cesium 134 and cesium 137, but it has a drawback - the detection of the rocket trace will occur on the third or fourth day, when radioactive elements reach the upper atmosphere.
Given the 2-megaton SBC, Burevestnik is the only one of all the “Putin cartoons” that the US will only learn about using when one of the large metropolitan areas suddenly disappears along with the entire population. Only now it becomes clear such "close attention" to this particular missile from the Western media and our "fifth column" and a clearly organized campaign to discredit. 9M730 "Burevestnik" is an ideal "weapon of deterrence", the enemy will always be convinced, whatever his intentions towards Russia - the "response" is inevitable and inevitable.
During the test tests in the autumn-winter of 2017, a mobile range launcher was used, created using the artillery part of the 9P113 type launcher of the 9K52 Luna-M missile system with a launch container made on the basis of the container of the 4K44 Redut missile system.
Obviously, the rocket is in the dimensions of the Bazalt anti-ship missile - Vulkan, and directly asks for armament of the Marshal Ustinov and Varyag cruisers in the CM-248 launch containers. Preliminarily carry out the modernization of the cruisers, replacing the Osa-MA near-field air defense system with the Pantsir-M.
Most likely, the main method of basing missiles will be a ground-based mobile launcher.
Each of the newest Russian weapons created recently has its undeniable advantages, but there are also disadvantages, and you need to think hard before sacrificing some type of weapon to the new START.
It seems that while the fate of the Burevestnik was being decided, the START was being covered with a copper basin. It is good to.
Information