In 2018, Putin released a video of how a strike with the Burevestnik might work: it shows an animated missile crossing Europe, turning south down the Atlantic, bending around the Cape of Good Hope, then dodging US missile defence systems to detonate in Florida. According to Fiona Hill, then Mr Trump’s senior Russia adviser, the president’s face went white when he saw the footage.
Today, Western missile analysts are more phlegmatic. In terms of its threat to Russia’s adversaries, the Burevestnik is hamstrung by its sluggish pace (around 600mph) and the use of known, fixed launch points.
“It’s effectively an airplane, and not even a stealthy airplane,” said William Alberque, senior associate at the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum think tank.
“Every kilometre it travels, you increase the chance of spotting it. And you’ve got a nuclear reactor on board… so the chances of detecting stray neutrons are pretty high.”
Western jets could shoot the Burevestnik down, as could ship-based missile-defence systems.
The war in Ukraine has proved that the “age of subsonic cruise is kind of over”, Mr Alberque added, given the high rate of intercepts.
“I would want to shoot it down over Russian territory, so that it can be with family and friends when it dies.”
