Analysis of Russia’s Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile propulsion

MIT researchers assess Russia’s Burevestnik (SSC-X-9) as a subsonic, direct-cycle air-breathing nuclear propulsion cruise missile likely driving a turbojet, implying extremely long endurance/range. If the reported 15-hour 2025 flight is accurate, it would represent a rare (possibly first sustained) nuclear-powered flight capability with major strategic implications and potential radioactive contamination along its route.