November 18, 2025
BRUSSELS – Russia has completed the testing phase of its Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a strategic weapon with a theoretically unlimited range that, according to newly public NATO documents, the Alliance currently has no effective defense against. The development marks a significant escalation in military technology and plunges already fraught relations between Moscow and the West to a new low.
The weapon, confirmed as operational-ready in a Kremlin announcement, is propelled by a compact nuclear reactor, allowing it to stay airborne for an unprecedented duration. According to details from NATO-classified documents released to the public on November 14, the Burevestnik can reach speeds of 560 mph (900 km/h), boasts high maneuverability, and can be launched from a mobile platform, making it difficult to track and preemptively destroy.
The primary threat, as outlined in the Alliance’s assessment, is the missile's "unlimited range." This capability would allow it to bypass traditional Western missile defense shields and radar networks by taking unpredictable, circuitous routes to its target. Military planners are particularly concerned about attack vectors over the sparsely monitored polar or southern regions, enabling the weapon to strike targets in Europe or North America from unexpected directions.
However, some defense analysts point to a potential vulnerability. While its endurance is revolutionary, the missile's subsonic speed makes it significantly slower than traditional ballistic missiles or newer hypersonic weapons. This lack of hypersonic speed, analysts say, could make the Burevestnik vulnerable to modern air defense systems if it can be detected and tracked in time.
A New Low in Post-Cold War Relations
The unveiling of the Burevestnik comes as relations between Moscow and NATO have deteriorated to their lowest point since the Cold War, erasing decades of attempts at partnership.
Once envisioned as a cooperative partner, the relationship began to fracture following Russia's 2008 military action in Georgia and shattered completely with its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. That move led NATO to suspend all practical cooperation with Moscow, ending joint initiatives that had included counter-terrorism exercises and support in Afghanistan.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 effectively tore up the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, in which Moscow had pledged not to threaten or use force against any other state. In response, NATO bolstered its military presence on its eastern flank, and formerly neutral countries Finland and Sweden joined the alliance, citing direct threats from Russia.
The Kremlin has consistently viewed NATO's eastward expansion as an existential threat, a sentiment that has fueled its aggressive military posturing and investment in so-called "superweapons" like the Burevestnik. Repeated condemnations from NATO leaders have had little to no effect on President Vladimir Putin's strategic calculus.
The operational deployment of the Burevestnik is expected to escalate the strategic competition between Russia and the West, potentially triggering a new and costly arms race. NATO will now face immense pressure to develop new surveillance and interception technologies capable of countering this unique, long-range threat, reorienting its defense posture for a world where geographical barriers no longer offer guaranteed protection.