At the end of 2020, it was revealed that a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile was about to be launched, and this one was called ".Petrel", the NATO code name is ".ssc—x—9The biggest gimmick of the missile is that it has an infinite range and can never land before it officially hits the target, which can't help but make people feel a little surprised, can Russia really succeed in throwing so much energy into the study of the "Petrel".It compares to the United States back then".Pluto"So what?
I'm sure you've all heard of the famous one".Two levels of supremacyUS-Soviet Cold WarAt that time, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a rather fierce arms race, and although this arms race ended later when the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia, as the "successor," obtained the vast majority of the military research results of the former Soviet Union, and it was precisely because of this that Russia was able to become a military power in the world.
However, economic development determines that Russia is unable to start a reciprocal arms race with the US military, so Russia will choose to take the sword and develop asymmetric strikes**, and the typical representative here is the protagonist we are going to talk about today-Petrel nuclear-powered cruise missile
Petrel nuclear-powered cruise missileThe length of the projectile body is about 12 meters, and thisOf these, 9 meters are at cruising level, itsThe widest part of the projectile body is nearly 15 metersThis physique is relatively "pocket-sized" compared to the nuclear-powered missile "Pluto" once launched by the United States, but it can also be understood when it is equipped with a small nuclear power generator, after all, the nuclear power generator saves a lot of fuel space for the missile body.
It is said that the range of this missile can easily reach 20,000 or 30,000 kilometers, and there are even many people who say that it can "never land" before hitting the target, which can be described as a "unique case" among the current cruise missiles.
You may think that the phrase "never landing" is an exaggeration, but in fact this is the best interpretation of the Petrel and the powered cruise missile. For example, the United StatesFord-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, it is said that it can sail at sea for 50 years without changing fuel, and the Haiyan cruise missile, which is also nuclear-powered, will be worse than the aircraft carrier?A missile that has hovered in the sky for decades, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it will never land.
The advantages of ultra-long range are obvious, the Haiyan cruise missile can completely bypass the target's defense area, carry out a surprise strike from the side, the simplest example is that Russia wants to hit the United States, then it can completely let the missile pass through Mexico, hit the United States by surprise;And beyond the ultra-long range,It is said that the Haiyan cruise missile can also achieve low-altitude attacks, and its flight altitude is usually about 50 100 meters, which can avoid almost all radar detection, and can be said to be truly invincible.
The Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile has many of the above advantages, and it is naturally easy to get the preference of the Russian side, and today, when Henan has been widely used, the advent of nuclear-powered missiles seems to be a matter of course, so why are we so surprised by the birth of the "Haiyan"?
In fact, the reason is very simple, that is, on the road to the development of nuclear-powered cruise missiles, there have always been two "tigers" entrenched.
The name of the first Tiger was "Speed", at a time when hypersonic speed is so commonThe maximum cruising speed is only 250 metersThe "Petrel" that can step into the subsonic field seems to be a little insufficient, but fortunately, this is only the cruising speed, and in terms of burst speed, the Petrel nuclear-powered cruise missile is still good, but even so, the "Petrel" still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of speed.
The name of the second tiger is "Security", and it is this tiger that "bites" the US nuclear-powered cruise missile "Pluto".
During the Cold War, the United States took the lead in carrying out research on nuclear-powered cruise missiles in order to overwhelm the Soviet Union in the field of armaments, and the success of the experiment on the core part of the Pluto engine in 1964 undoubtedly means that the research of this nuclear-powered cruise missile has come to an end, but even so, this missile was finally cut in half, and the reason is that the missile itself is not safe enough, and it will bring serious noise and nuclear pollution to the areas along the route during the flight.
It is said that the Pluto nuclear-powered cruise missile was originally usedNoise up to 160 decibels, and when people talk normally, the sound is often only about 50 60 decibels, and 160 decibels can directly cause people to be directly deaf, which undoubtedly proves the shortcomings of this missile;As for nuclear contamination, it is even more serious than noise, and once the Pluto nuclear-powered cruise missile flies over the sky, its flight path may be devoid of grass and distorted.
Of course, these are not the fundamental reasons that prompted the United States to abandon the research on the Pluto nuclear-powered cruise missile, but the fundamental reasons lie inIf this missile wants to hit the Soviet Union from the United States to the Soviet Union, it will have to pass through the borders of the United States and its allies along the way, which is where they can stand it the most.
The issue of safety is a difficult hurdle that cannot be bypassed on the road to the development of nuclear-powered cruise missiles, and because the body of the Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile is smaller, it is simply impossible to install a sufficient radiation isolation layer on its periphery, so the danger of the "Haiyan" is naturally self-evident.
Of course, Russia's claim that the Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile is about to come out certainly proves that they have made great progress in these two aspects, and it can even be said that they have gone where the United States failed to set foot in the first place, which is naturally a good thing for Russia. The Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile will become the sharpest weapon in Russia's hands, and it will also become a thick and simple giant shield for them to defend international security.
According to the latest ** news, the launch site of the Russian Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile is very likely to be located on Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Circle, and this is indeed a good choice, after allThe Russian "missile incident" that occurred on August 8, 2019After all, although the Russian side has always claimed that it has not caused nuclear pollution, the Russian media reported that the local radiation has reached a peak, once reaching several times the natural radiation, which undoubtedly punctures the lies of the Russian official.
In any case, the original intention of the birth of the Haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile was to defend Russia, so if it can be achieved "without a fight", it is naturally the best, and we sincerely hope that we will not see the day when this nuclear-powered cruise missile breaks out.