Putin's 'flying Chernobyl' missile risks nuclear radiation mishap, experts warn
Vladimir Putin announced Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can pierce any defence shield and evade US missiles.
But experts, citing its poor test record, have said Burevestnik missile will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
The missile – referred to as SSC-X-9 Skyfall by Nato – has a nuclear-powered engine that threatens to disgorge radiation along its flight path and its deployment risks an accident that could contaminate the surrounding region, said Cheryl Rofer, a former US nuclear weapons scientist.
“The Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries," agreed Thomas Countryman, a former top State Department official with the Arms Control Association, referring to the 1986 nuclear plant disaster.