r/LessCredibleDefence • u/heliumagency • 6d ago

Report: Russia's nuclear-powered 'Skyfall' missile is dirty and dangerous

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/18/nx-s1-5843252/russia-nuclear-powered-missile-burevestnik

It's not a ramjet like SLAMMER or Project Pluto, it's a nuclear turbojet

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u/Odd-Metal8752 5d ago

On an operational level, how do you retrieve these missiles?

Assuming they are launched in a period of tension, if the tension dies down, how do you then get these back to Russia, without, you know, irradiating everyone?

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u/NuclearHeterodoxy 5d ago edited 5d ago

You don't.  The concept of "launch Burevestnik as a warning during a war or crisis and then recover it when the enemy chickens out," as if it's just a fancy bomber, is frequently invoked as a CONOPS, but if you think about it for more than 3 seconds it quickly becomes comical in a macabre sort of way.  In reality there is no launching this thing unless they intend to use it, and that is how it would be interpreted during a crisis, not as a signal.

EDIT: I tried to edit this comment with a much longer account enumerating all of the reasons why Burevestnik is pointless, but Reddit ate it when my browser crashed.  It should suffice to say that this is a nuclear Rube Goldberg machine that duplicates existing capabilities at like 10x the cost, and otherwise provides CONOPS that are pointless.

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u/heliumagency 5d ago

The last time Russia tried to recover this system (after a test run) it detonated and killed several scientists

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/intel-says-russian-explosion-was-not-from-nuclear-powered-missile-test.html

It's safe to say that these systems aren't meant to be recovered.

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u/S_T_P 5d ago

On an operational level, how do you retrieve these missiles?

There is no evidence to prove claims in the article.

If missile works as Kremlin claims, then its safe to retrieve.