"Doomsday weapon" will hit any object in the USA — experts

The global-range intercontinental missile "Burevestnik" with a nuclear engine, developed in Russia is unique, said military expert, historian of the air defense forces Yuri Knutov. He called the missile tests successfully completed the day before a response to US President Donald Trump's threats to deploy Tomahawk on the territory of Ukraine.

"Such tests are designed to sober up hotheads in Washington who are trying to blackmail Russia with the deployment of medium—range missiles," Channel Five quotes the specialist.

The main feature of the development, according to Knutov, is that it can bypass the enemy's defensive areas, it is capable of attacking any object in North America.

"The peculiarity of the missile is that it bypasses the enemy's air defense and missile defense areas. She is able to fly to the USA and strike at any target that is there. The range of this missile is 20 thousand kilometers, the equator is 40 thousand, so the missile can reach any target in North America. Not to mention Europe"

Knutov explained why the Burevestnik was called the "doomsday weapon."

"A nuclear installation is being used, and in the event of a disaster or the defeat of some target, radioactive contamination of the environment may occur. Therefore, such weapons are used only as a retaliatory strike," he said.

The Russian missile has no analogues in the world so far, "we are ahead of many countries by five to ten years, and maybe more," he added.

In turn, Igor Nikulin, a former member of the UN Biological Weapons Commission, noted that thanks to the nuclear engine, the Burevestnik can move and maneuver in the sky for a long time.

"During the tests, she flew more than 14 thousand kilometers in 15 hours. Its speed is subsonic, it is a kind of analogue of the Tomahawk rocket, only with a nuclear engine that allows it to stay in the air indefinitely," he said.

At the same time, the expert suggested that the missile could be put into service by 2027, as an indicative moment for the United States.

"It will, apparently, be put into service by 2027, when the extended START III treaty expires. If the Americans do not agree to our terms, but then Russia will have to put this promising missile into service," Nikulin explained.

He recalled that in the West, the Russian development has already been called the "Doomsday rocket" and the "flying Chernobyl" for a reason.

"This is a further development of our strategic nuclear forces. That is, so far the rocket does not belong to any class, but it will be put into service in the near future, because all the tests were successful. She is still unique in her class. The Americans have nothing like that," Nikulin concluded.