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47-405: The Burevestnik is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018. This effort bears similarity to the discontinued US Project Pluto from 1957, which although functional, was perceived as too provocative, less effective than ICBMs, and presented radiological emissions that made scheduling test flights difficult. A cruise missile has

94-576: A MIM-104 Patriot missile defence system. On 10 May 2023, the Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko showed fragments of the alleged downed Kinzhal missile for Bild journalists in Kyiv . In contradiction to Ukrainian claims, Russian media reported that the fragments closely resembled the concrete-piercing BETAB-500 ShP aerial bomb . On 16 May 2023, Ukraine's air command claimed to have intercepted all six Kinzhal missiles that had been launched during

141-588: A turbojet engine and a liquid-fueled booster. According to James Hockenhull , the UK's Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), the Burevestnik is a "sub-sonic nuclear-powered cruise missile system which has global reach and would allow attack from unexpected directions." Per Hockenhull, the missile would have "a near indefinite loiter time". On 9 August 2019, the Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom confirmed

188-403: A Russian attack. This Russian military article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Loitering munition A loitering munition , also known as a suicide drone , kamikaze drone , or exploding drone , is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around a target area until a target is located, then attack

235-501: A backpack. Pocket-size jammers for soldiers were also developed. As of June 2023 Ukraine was losing 5-10,000 drones a month, or 160 per day, according to Ukrainian soldiers. This has led to Russia creating wire guided FPV drones, similar to a wire-guided missile or even wire-guided torpedoes. One drone captured by Ukrainian forces had 10.813 km of fibre optic cable. Such guidance makes the link between operators and FPV drone immune to jamming. It also allows for much faster updates from

282-399: A diving attack, often lacking forward facing cameras, lacking in control response-speed which is unneeded in regular UAV flight, and are noisy when diving, potentially providing warning to the target. UAV's, being designed as multi-use platforms, often have a unit cost that is not appropriate for regular one-time expendable mission use. The primary mission of a loitering munition is reaching

329-425: A drone as a baiting decoy with the attack role into one small and relatively cheap platform in comparison to the alternative wild weasel jet fighter. Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons have been developed for additional roles beyond the initial SEAD role, ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short-range battlefield use. A documented use of loitering munitions

376-619: A drone's GPS navigation. A Royal United Services Institute study in 2022 found that Russian Electronic Warfare units, in March and April 2022, knocked out or shot down 90% of Ukrainian drones that they had at the start of the war in February 2022. The main success was in jamming GPS and radio links to the drones. Both Ukraine and Russia rely on electronic warfare to defeat FPV drones. Such jammers are now used on Ukrainian trenches and vehicles. Russian forces have built jammers that can fit into

423-801: A modification. Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). The following table compares similar size-class cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and UCAVS: Whereas some cruise missiles, such as the Block IV Tomahawk , have the ability to loiter and have some sensory and remote control features, their primary mission is typically strike and not target acquisition. Cruise missiles, as their name implies, are optimized for long-range flight at constant speed both in terms of propulsion systems and wings or lifting body design. They are often unable to loiter at slow fuel-efficient speeds which significantly reduces potential loiter time even when

470-434: A number of military forces in the 1990s. Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons were developed for additional roles ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short range battlefield systems that fit in a backpack. Initially, loitering munitions were not referred to as such but rather as "suicide UAVs" or "loitering missiles". Different sources point at different projects as originating

517-567: A poor test record of at least 13 known tests, with only two partial successes, since 2016" Russian %27super weapons%27 In March 2018, as part of his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly , the Russian president Vladimir Putin announced six novel nuclear or dual-use weapons systems, popularly dubbed " super weapons " ( Russian : супероружие , romanized :  superoruzhie ). Putin stated that together

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564-475: A relatively long time around the target area, and from UCAVs in that a loitering munition is intended to be expended in an attack and has a built-in warhead. As such, they can also be considered a nontraditional ranged weapon . Loitering weapons first emerged in the 1980s for use in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and were deployed in that role with

611-494: A release of radioactivity at the State Central Navy Testing Range at Nyonoksa near Severodvinsk in northern Russia and stated it was linked to an accident involving the test of an " isotope power source for a liquid-fuelled rocket engine". Five weapons scientists were killed in the accident. Nonproliferation expert Jeffrey Lewis and Federation of American Scientists fellow Ankit Panda suspect

658-638: A secondary explosive capability. Other systems, such as the Delilah do not have a recovery option and are self-destructed in mission aborts. Russia uses ZALA Lancet drones in Ukraine. Since spring 2022 Ukrainian forces have been building cages around their artillery pieces using chain link fencing, wire mesh and even wooden logs as part of the construction. One analyst told Radio Liberty that such cages were "mainly intended to disrupt Russian Lancet munitions." A picture supposedly taken from January 2023 shows

705-530: A target, to take a circuitous route that avoids defenses, and to loiter for an extended period. The United States developed a SLAM nuclear-powered cruise missile during the 1950s, achieving successful full power testing of Tory II-A and -C but abandoned the project, in part due to the radioactive pollution that would result from deployment. The Russian defense industry began developing an intercontinental-range nuclear-powered cruise missile capable of penetrating any interceptor-based missile defense system. It

752-408: Is UVision HERO solutions – the loitering systems are operated remotely, controlled in real time by a communications system and equipped with an electro-optical camera whose images are received by the command and control station. Some loitering munitions may return and be recovered by the operator if they are unused in an attack and have enough fuel; in particular this is characteristic of UAVs with

799-564: Is deployed at the platoon level and fits in a backpack. During conflicts in the 2010s and 2020s, conventional armies and non-state militants alike began modifying common commercial racing drones into an "FPV loitering munition" by the attachment of a small explosive, so-named because of the first-person view (FPV) they provide the operator. Explosive ordnance such as an IED , grenade , mortar round or an RPG warhead are fitted to an FPV drone then deployed to aerial bomb tactical targets. FPV drones also allow direct reconnaissance during

846-692: Is said to have unlimited range and can evade missile defenses. A significant stage of trials of the Burevestnik complex's cruise missile, the nuclear power unit tests, was completed in January 2019. The cruise missile received the name Burevestnik (which translates as Storm petrel , a seabird) as a result of an open vote on the Ministry of Defence of Russia's website. According to US researchers Decker Eveleth and Jeffrey Lewis , based on imagery analysis of launch pad construction and storage facilities,

893-494: Is sent on a potential kamikaze mission, and may even be constructed with commercially-available quadcopters with strapped-on explosives. Purpose-built munitions are more elaborate in flight and control capabilities, warhead size and design, and onboard sensors for locating targets. Some loitering munitions use a human operator to locate targets whereas others, such as IAI Harop, can function autonomously searching and launching attacks without human intervention. Another example

940-457: Is strongly suspected, as is the case with modern fire-and-forget missiles and airstrike planning. An autonomous loitering munition, on the other hand, may be launched at an area where enemy activity is only probable, and loiter searching autonomously for targets for potentially hours following the initial launch decision, though it may be able to request final authorization for an attack from a human. The IAI Harpy and IAI Harop are frequently cited in

987-558: The "August 8th 'Skyfall' incident [...] was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile", which "remained on the bed of the White Sea since its failed test early last year". On 26 August 2019, Aleksei Karpov, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna, stated that the accident was linked to the development of weapons which Russia had to begin creating as "one of

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1034-583: The "weapon is to be perfected regardless of anything". On 5 October 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed that the missile had been successfully flight tested, though Western media sources such as the BBC cast doubt on this claim noting that there was no independent confirmation. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an advocacy group focused on reducing nuclear, biological and emergent technology risks, "The Burevestnik has

1081-586: The 1980s, a number of programs, such as the IAI Harpy or the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow, integrated anti-radiation sensors into a drone or missile air frames coupled with command and control and loitering capabilities. This allowed the attacking force to place relatively cheap munitions in place over suspected SAM sites, and to attack promptly the moment the SAM battery is visible. This integrated the use of

1128-411: The advantage over a ballistic missile of being able to fly under and around missile defense radars and interceptors. However, conventional jet -propelled missiles have a limited flight time and range. Power from nuclear fission offers far more energy from a given mass of fuel which, if it could be used for propulsion, would hypothetically allow a missile to be launched far outside the defensive zone of

1175-425: The beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which could provide protection against loitering munitions in some circumstances. Some Ukrainian tanks taking part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive were also spotted using roof screens. On 21 March 2024, recent footage of the submarine Tula showed that it has been fitted with a slat armor to prevent drone strikes, the first ocean-going asset to carry such

1222-545: The drone's strike mission. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, both Russian and Ukrainian forces were producing thousands of FPV drones every month by October 2023, many of which were donated by volunteer groups. Escadrone Pegasus and the Vyriy Drone Molfar are two examples of the low-cost drones that rapidly evolved in 2022–23 during the war. In 2022, the UK Government announced it

1269-466: The drone. However these drones have reduced range and manoeuvrability compared to wireless drones. Ukraine has also responded by using autonomous drones tasking to ensure that a jammed drone can hit a target. In March 2024 footage put on social media showed a Ukrainian FPV drone being jammed just before it struck a target. Despite the loss of operator control it still managed to strike the target. Russian tanks have been fitted with rooftop slat armor at

1316-572: The explosion was probably not related to Burevestnik but instead to the testing of another military platform. According to CNBC , the explosion occurred during an attempt to recover a missile from the seabed, which was lost during a previously failed test. On 10 October, Thomas DiNanno , member of the United States delegation to the United Nations General Assembly First Committee , stated that

1363-671: The first batch of the Poseidon nuclear-powered UUVs had been manufactured. Of the six systems, only two are known to have been used in action: the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal , which has been employed in a non-nuclear capacity during the Russian invasion of Ukraine , and 3M22 Zircon launched from the Black Sea onto land target. In 2023, it was claimed that a Kinzhal missile had been shot down by the Ukrainian air defense forces using

1410-622: The first missile regiment armed with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle officially entered combat duty. As of 2020 , the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered missile was still under development. The Nyonoksa radiation accident appears to have been caused by an accident while testing a prototype. TASS reported that the first contract for producing the RS-28 Sarmat missiles was signed in August 2022. On 16 January 2023, TASS reported that

1457-604: The incident resulted from a test of the Burevestnik cruise missile. However, other arms control experts disputed the assertions: Ian Williams of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace expressed skepticism over Moscow's financial and technical capabilities to field the weapon, while Michael Kofman of the Wilson Center concluded that

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1504-438: The loop) raise moral, ethical, and international humanitarian law concerns because a human being is not involved in making the actual decision to attack and potentially kill humans, as is the case with fire-and-forget missiles in common use since the 1960s. Whereas some guided munitions may lock-on after launch or may be sensor fuzed, their flight time is typically limited and a human launches them at an area where enemy activity

1551-401: The missile has some loiter capabilities. Conversely almost any UAV could be piloted to crash onto a target and most could be fitted with an improvised explosive warhead. However the primary use of a UAV or UCAV would be for recoverable flight operations carrying reconnaissance equipment and/or munitions. While many UAVs are explicitly designed with loitering in mind, they are not optimized for

1598-454: The missile starts from an inclined launcher using a detachable rocket booster. Pavel Ivanov from VPK-news states that the cruise missile is one and a half to two times the size of the Kh-101, and the wings of the Burevestnik are rooted "on top of the fuselage, rather than below it like on the Kh-101." He also notes that there are "characteristic protrusions where air is most likely heated by

1645-454: The nuclear reactor". According to Ivanov, the mass of the Burevestnik is "several times to order of magnitude" greater than that of the Kh-101, which eliminates Tu-160 and Tu-95 as potential carriers of the missile. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta , Burevestnik is a nuclear thermal rocket with a solid-fueled booster engine. The length of the missile is 12 m (39 ft) at launch and 9 m (30 ft) in flight. The nose has

1692-555: The probable deployment site for the Burevestnik is Vologda-20 located at Chebsara, around 300 miles north of Moscow. According to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense, the missile's dimensions are comparable to the Kh-101 cruise missile , but the claimed operational range is orders of magnitude greater than that of the Kh-101. It is equipped with a small-sized nuclear power unit. An official presentation shows that

1739-529: The rear half of a Lancet drone that failed to detonate due to such cages. Likewise Ukrainian forces have used inflatable decoys and wooden vehicles, such as HIMARS , to confuse and deceive Lancet drones. Ukrainian soldiers report shooting down Russian drones with sniper rifles . Russian soldiers use electronic warfare to disable or misdirect Ukrainian drones and have reportedly used the Stupor anti-drone rifle, which uses an electromagnetic pulse that disrupts

1786-506: The shape of an "ellipse 1 m (3.3 ft) × 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in size". Military expert Anton Lavrov, in the Izvestia article, suggested that the design of the Burevestnik uses a ramjet engine, which, unlike the more traditional propulsion systems for nuclear weapons, will have radioactive exhaust throughout its entire operation. Stratfor , an American geopolitical intelligence platform, assumes that Burevestnik utilizes

1833-474: The suspected target area, target acquisition during a loitering phase, followed by a self-destructive strike, and the munition is optimized in this regard in terms of characteristics (e.g. very short engine lifetime, silence in strike phase, speed of strike dive, optimization toward loitering time instead of range/speed) and unit cost (appropriate for a one-off strike mission). Loitering munitions that are capable of making autonomous attack decisions (man out of

1880-525: The target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted. Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs or combat drones), sharing characteristics with both. They differ from cruise missiles in that they are designed to loiter for

1927-497: The time. For instance the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow was described in a 1988 article: the Tacit Rainbow unmanned jet aircraft being developed by Northrop to loiter on high and then swoop down on enemy radars could be called a UAV, a cruise missile, or even a standoff weapon. But it is most definitely not an RPV . The response to the first generation of fixed installation surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) such as S-75 and S-125

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1974-613: The tit-for-tat measures in the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty ". On 21 November 2019, at the ceremony of presentation of posthumous awards to the dead men's families, Vladimir Putin stated that the scientists killed in the explosion on 8 August had been testing an “unparalleled” weapon: “We are talking about the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions about weapons design to ensure Russia’s sovereignty and security for decades to come". He also noted that

2021-428: The weapon category. The failed US AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow program or the 1980s initial Israeli Delilah variants are mentioned by some sources. The Iranian Ababil-1 was produced in the 1980s but its exact production date is unknown. The Israeli IAI Harpy was produced in the late 1980s. Early projects did not use the "loitering munition" nomenclature, which emerged much later; they used terminology existing at

2068-523: The weapons provided Russia with a strategic capability that was impossible for America to intercept , restoring Russia's nuclear deterrence capability in the face of American technological developments following America's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty . The "super weapons" named were: The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile started test operations in December 2017 and has been deployed since 2018. On 27 December 2019, TASS reported that

2115-647: Was in the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in which an IAI Harop was used against a bus being used as a troop transport for Armenian soldiers. The ZALA Lancet and several Shahed drones , including the HESA Shahed 136 , have been used by Russia in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine , while Ukraine has fielded loitering munitions such as the UJ-25 Skyline or the American-made AeroVironment Switchblade , which

2162-549: Was providing "hundreds of loitering munitions" to Ukraine. On 9 November 2023, Ukrainian soldiers claimed to have used a civilian-donated FPV drone to destroy a Russian Tor missile system on the Kupiansk front , showcasing the potential cost-effectiveness of fielding such munitions. A Tor missile system costs some $ 24 million dollars to build, which could buy 14,000 FPV drones. Loitering munitions may be as simple as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with attached explosives that

2209-692: Was the development of the anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) such as AGM-45 Shrike and other means to attack fixed SAM installations, as well as developing SEAD doctrines. The Soviet counter-response was the use of mobile SAMs such as 2K12 Kub with intermittent use of radar . Thus, the SAM battery was only visible for a small period of time, during which it was also a significant threat to high-value Wild Weasel fighters. In Israel's 1982 Operation Mole Cricket 19 various means including UAVs and air-launched Samson decoys were used over suspected SAM areas to saturate enemy SAMs and to bait them to activate their radar systems, which were then attacked by ARMs. In

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