Modeling the Performance of the Burevestnik Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile

Abstract

In the last decade, Russia's strategic arsenal has pivoted towards a reliance on exotic nuclear-weapon delivery systems. One such system, the Burevestnik (NATO: 9M730) is claimed to be a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile capable of nearly indefinite flight. The air-breathing nuclear propulsion system used in this missile is unique, and its attributes are generally unfamiliar to both the aerospace and nuclear-security communities. To better understand the Burevestnik, and the potential of air-breathing nuclear propulsion systems generally, we have developed a nuclear-aircraft modeling toolkit capable of constraining the missile's performance characteristics. Using this framework, we conclude that the Burevestnik is a subsonic cruise missile system measuring $9.5 \pm 0.32$~m in length, with a $5.6 \pm 0.18$~m wingspan, likely powered by a direct-cycle nuclear turbojet (our calculations almost entirely exclude the possibility of a nuclear ramjet). Under these assumptions, our models predict a reactor thermal power of $4.3\pm 1.3$~MWth at cruise, with peak power demand during climb and terminal maneuvering exceeding $15$~MWth, which may be met with a supplemental chemical interburner. Monte Carlo simulations show that escaping neutrons will generate in excess of 5~TBq of gaseous radionuclides per MW-hr of flight, including isotopes such as $^{41}Ar$, $^{85m}Kr$, $^{83m}Kr$ and $^{14}C$, some of which may be detectable using existing monitoring networks.