Russia's Latest Weapons That Put World on Edge | Watch

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Russia’s nuclear triad has been reinforced with new weapon systems @Sputnik

Russia’s nuclear triad has been reinforced with new weapon systems in response to the abundance of geopolitical challenges. They include:

1. The Burevestnik, a cruise missile with unlimited range
2. The Poseidon, an underwater unmanned vehicle with a nuclear power unit
3. The Sarmat, a ballistic missile capable of suborbital flight
4. The Oreshnik, the newest Russian missile system with a medium-range ballistic missile

The Burevestnik missile and the unmanned underwater vehicle Poseidon will ensure strategic parity for the entire 21st century, President Vladimir Putin stressed. Russia does not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone and has always remained open to new mutually beneficial contacts with other countries, he highlighted.

With their unique ability to change the course of history in a single strike, these fearsome weapons—dubbed "weapons of the Apocalypse"—keep the world on edge.

Burevestnik: Russia's Latest Global-Range Cruise Missile

The Burevestnik Missile (provisional designation — 9M730, NATO reporting name — SSC-X-9 Skyfall) is a Russian intercontinental-range, nuclear-powered cruise missile, designed to penetrate air and missile defense systems and deliver a nuclear warhead across vast distances.

On October 26, 2025, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin on the successful test of the "unlimited-range" Burevestnik cruise missile. According to Gerasimov, the test took place on October 21, with the missile’s flight covering 14,000 kilometers in 15 hours.

 

1. Development and Testing Timeline

• The decision to begin work on the Burevestnik was made back in December 2001, after the US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
• President Putin publicly announced the program in his 2018 address to the Federal Assembly, calling it “invulnerable to both existing and prospective missile defense and air defense systems.” At that time, the president also revealed that a successful test launch had already been conducted in late 2017.
• The most recent tests of the missile took place on October 21, 2025.
• Soon after, Norwegian intelligence chief, Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensønes, stated that Russia’s Burevestnik tests had taken place on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
• The President of the Russian Federation issued a directive to begin laying the groundwork for deploying the missile in the armed forces, and also proposed determining possible ways of its application. Putin noted that a great deal of work remains before the missile can be put into combat service.

2. Burevestnik’s Unique Features

The key feature is the nuclear engine. Unlike conventional cruise missiles that use aviation kerosene, synthetic or solid fuel and have a limited range, The Burevestnik’s engine runs on nuclear power, which provides the missile with:

1. Effectively unlimited range
2. Prolonged flight endurance
3. The ability to alter its course and attack from any direction

Its extended airborne or loitering time and the ability for “long patrolling” enable the missile to enter the enemy’s zone of action from unexpected directions. For example, it can bypass air defense and missile defense systems via polar routes—where surveillance is minimal. This complicates the task for early-warning systems and interceptor guidance. The combination of low-altitude flight, a variable trajectory, and long endurance creates a "fuzzy" contact for surveillance systems, making it exceptionally difficult to track.

3. Tactical and Technical Characteristics

The missile's core specifications remain classified. Some known characteristics include:

• Engine type: Nuclear power plant
• Warhead: Nuclear
• Range: Effectively unlimited
• Speed: Subsonic or supersonic (approx. 850–1,300 km/h)

Flight profile: Low-altitude (reportedly 25–100 meters), with the capability to avoid detection zones.

According to Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov, these characteristics allow the Burevestnik to be used for "guaranteed precision strikes on heavily protected targets at any distance."

President Putin emphasized that the missile had demonstrated "high accuracy in hitting its target, which it confidently and precisely reaches at a pre-calculated time."

4. Dual-Use Tecnologies for the Arctic and Space

The Burevestnik and Poseidon systems use exclusively Russian-made materials, some of which have potential use in civilian sectors, particularly in the Arctic and for space exploration.

“Their application will allow us to achieve breakthroughs not only in the defense sector, but also in many civilian sectors when implementing a number of priority national projects and programs, including in small-scale nuclear energy, creating power plants for the Arctic zone and the exploration of near and deep space, in addition to providing power for a space transport ship designed to carry heavy cargo, which we are currently working on, as well as for a future station on the Moon,” Putin stated in November 2025.