Putin boasts of a nuclear "Petrel": an expert explained why the missile will not become a "superweapon"

As Andriy Ryzhenko, a reserve captain of the 1st rank, former deputy chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told in an interview with UNIAN, "Burevestnyk" is a typical subsonic cruise missile similar to Kh-101 or "Calibre" in terms of its design. It is capable of flying at a low altitude - about 50-100 meters - and over a long distance, but it has no fundamental advantages over existing missiles of this class.

Ryzhenko explained that the main difference between "Burevestnyk" and conventional cruise missiles is the use of a miniature nuclear reactor instead of a classic turbojet engine with fuel combustion. The reactor is the heat source for the turbine, which can theoretically provide a long flight without refueling. "As the propagandists say, this is an unlimited flight range. It is planned that it should carry a nuclear warhead.

The peculiarity is that, although it has a classic turbojet engine, it has a nuclear reactor that provides air heating," Ryzhenko explained. According to the expert, even with the successful operation of such a reactor, the missile remains subsonic, therefore it is unable to avoid interception by modern anti-aircraft means. Ryzhenko emphasized that the Burevestnyk can be shot down by a wide range of weapons, from machine guns to anti-aircraft missile systems.

Ukrainian air defense forces have already proven their effectiveness against such missiles. "The Armed Forces shoot down about 80% of the cruise missiles launched by the Russian Federation. We are talking about the Kh-101 and the Caliber, that is, missiles similar to this one. The entire range of air defense weapons can be used against it, starting with machine guns and ending with anti-aircraft missile systems," the military expert noted.

He also drew attention to the fact that even the declared flight of 14,000 kilometers in 15 hours does not make the "Petrel" a threat of the intercontinental level. During this time, Ryzhenko stressed, the missile can be detected and destroyed multiple times, especially if its flight will take place over the ocean. Ryzhenko explained that, unlike the "Burevestnyk", ballistic missiles move along a trajectory with an exit into space and have a significantly higher speed - 5-15 times higher.

This makes them more difficult to intercept, but also more expensive to produce and shoot down. "One Patriot projectile costs about 50 million. Whereas to shoot down a subsonic missile like the Burevestnik, much simpler means are enough - artillery shots, MANPADS or medium-range systems," Ryzhenko clarified. Separately, the expert touched on the issue of the consequences of shooting down a missile containing a nuclear reactor.

According to him, in case of destruction of the reactor, local radiation contamination may occur, but it will not be large-scale. "If the missile is shot down, the reactor may be damaged, and then the area will receive some radioactive contamination. But I would not compare it to Chernobyl, as some commentators do. The level of contamination will be much lower," he emphasized.

Andriy Ryzhenko added that the American Tomahawk missiles, unlike the Russian Burevestnyk, are proven weapons with real combat experience: "Currently, about three thousand cases of Tomahawk combat use are known. And in Russia, we are talking about only an experimental model that has just learned to fly. " It will be recalled that previous tests of the Burevestnik missile in Russia ended in an explosion, as a result of which several developers were killed.