SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the remember-that-story-this-past-weekend? dept.
A few days ago, on August 8, there was an explosion on a barge in the White Sea near Nyonoksa, Russia. That explosion tragically killed seven people, nuclear engineers and technicians working on a project. The project was described as "an isotopic power source for a liquid engine installation," but let's be completely clear here: they were developing the nuclear propulsion system for a genuinely brutal and terrible weapon.
That weapon is known as 9M730 Burevestnik, known to NATO as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, but is perhaps best understood as a modern rebirth of a terrifying American weapon concept from the 1960s known as the Flying Crowbar.
The Flying Crowbar was a nuclear-powered scramjet missile, capable of flying at hypersonic speeds with an almost indefinite range, spewing extremely radioactive exhaust and nuclear bombs all over the place.
[...] While this accident is absolutely a tragedy because of the loss of life and the significant radiation exposure in the area, the blow to the development of the 9M730 Burevestnik missile is not the tragic part.
The Burevestnik is not a defensive weapon; it's a weapon to attack at long range and spread death and destruction all along its path, even over people that have no involvement in whatever bullshit reason this thing was launched for.
Wikipedia entries on 9M730 Burevestnik and Flying Crowbar (aka Supersonic Low Altitude Missile).
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @06:04AM (8 children)
That aside, why would Russia stretch for this sorta thing? They have way more nukes than ... they have even more than the US, and nobody tries to bully them militarily.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @07:27AM
Because.... bad guys!!!1111111111
(Score: 4, Interesting) by mendax on Wednesday August 14 2019, @07:32AM (3 children)
Trump says [thinkprogress.org] in another one of his Twitter storms that the United States already has weapons like this insane Russian weapon. Perhaps he's spilling the beans on some super secret program, or perhaps he's lying again. Read the article and decide for yourself.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @05:38PM
He's referring to his mouth.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @06:07PM
Trump always has to have the "best" things, so I wouldn't put any stock in what that guy says, especially when comparing what "he" has to what "they" have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @08:05PM
We had a SLAM program waaaaay back in the 60s called Project Pluto. Its all old tech now but the basic premise is the same: A nuclear powered rocket with a near indefinite loiter capability at low altitude that can deploy multiple independent warheads.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday August 14 2019, @09:34AM
It's quite probable they didn't stretch for this sort of thing. The SLAM really was an insane weapon, but even more insane were the attempted Russian equivalents, which used direct-cycle engines. Truth is, we have no idea what the Russians were testing in Nyonoska, nor do we really know that the Burevestnik is or does. So the article really is just breathless hyperbole. Any reasonable analysis would point to anything but what the article is claiming, since a weapon like that makes no sense.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @10:09AM
Because sometimes saber rattling needs to be more than just words. Mind you, saber rattling is usually just so the "fearless leader" can put on a show for the locals. But once in a while they need to strike a little fear into outside nations (either directly or indirectly).
Having another type of weapon in your arsenal means your adversaries need to have a way to defend against it. The arms race isn't just about having many much more missiles. It's about forcing your adversaries to spend their resources playing catch-up so they can't do the same to you.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Wednesday August 14 2019, @06:21PM
They need new technologies to maintain the balance of power.
The Russian nuclear triad is ICBMs, subs, and strategic bombers. We have anti-ballistic missile technology, the SONUS network to track subs, and very good anti-stealth AA.
That's why they are digging in the cold war crazy barrel.