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Russia May Soon Test Nuclear-Powered ‘Flying Chernobyl’ Missile

Skyfall Missile Russian Flying Chernobyl
Skyfall Missile Russian Flying Chernobyl. Russian Government/Screenshot.

PUBLISHED on August 14, 2025, 2:41 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – Russia appears to be preparing to test its nuclear-powered “Skyfall” cruise missile just days before a high-stakes summit between Presidents Trump and Putin.

-Analysts have identified extensive activity at a remote Arctic test site for the Burevestnik missile, a weapon Putin once called “invincible.”

-However, the missile has a notoriously poor test record, with only two partial successes in 13 attempts, earning it the nickname “Flying Chernobyl.”

-This potential test is seen as a significant strategic signal from Moscow, regardless of its timing relative to the hastily arranged Alaska meeting.

Meet ‘Flying Chernobyl’: The Russian Superweapon That Keeps Failing

With the Putin-Trump summit just one day away, Russia has been rushing to make gains on the battlefield, ahead of a possible ceasefire or even a settlement.

According to a new report, Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning something significant before his next meeting with Donald Trump: a test of a missile —one that Putin has touted in the past but has had a somewhat checkered track record in previous tests.

Reuters reported Thursday that Putin “appears to be preparing to test his new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile,” ahead of the Trump meeting.

The assessments came from Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization, Reuters said. A “Western security source” agreed with the assessment.

The two reached their conclusions separately, having viewed “extensive activity” at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.

“We can see all of the activity at the test site, which is both huge amounts of supplies coming in to support operations and movement at the place where they actually launch the missile,” Lewis told Reuters of the possible test.

The White House, Pentagon, CIA, and Russian Defense Ministry all declined to comment on the report.

About Skyfall

According to the report, the weapon in question is the  9M730 Burevestnik, also known as the SSC-X-9, which has been given the 007-like name “Skyfall.”

Although per the BBC, that nickname was bestowed on the missile by NATO. Russia, ironically, does not figure in the plot of the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall, although NATO does.

Per Reuters, the missile is one of several new nuclear weapons that Putin unveiled back in 2018, and described as “invincible.” In a speech before the election that year, Putin described the new weapons as “one of his most bellicose speeches in years,” and claimed that “they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.”

The Experts said that the test was likely scheduled and planned long before the announcement of the summit, which only came together within the last two weeks, with the location only confirmed on Wednesday.

“Sometimes you can push up or push down the schedule for a political reason,” Tom Countryman, a former acting undersecretary of state for arms control, told Reuters of the potential timing of the test.

The story added, however, that the Burevestnik missile has “a poor testing record,” with only “two partial successes among 13 known tests.”

For that reason, per a report from Novaya Gazeta, leading US experts have given the missile a nickname: “Flying Chernobyl.” Countryman, who appears to have coined that phrase, has also called it “a uniquely stupid weapon system [which] poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries.”

Nearly a year ago, in September of 2024, Reuters had cited the same researchers as having first spotted the test location for the missile. And it also reported on the missile’s “poor test record.”

“The weapon’s checkered past and design limitations raised doubts among eight experts interviewed by Reuters about whether its deployment would change the nuclear stakes for the West and other Russian foes,” the 2024 report said. “The Burevestnik has a poor test record of at least 13 known tests, with only two partial successes, since 2016, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an advocacy group focused on reducing nuclear, biological and emergent technology risks.”

What About the Golden Dome?

Those 2018 statements from the Russian president came long before the announced development of the Golden Dome missile defense system, which the Trump Administration has now begun funding.

According to a Reuters report earlier this week from a presentation about the system, the Golden Dome will feature “four layers — one satellite-based and three on land — with 11 short-range batteries located across the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.”

The question, however, is whether the Russian missile and others like it could breach a potential Golden Dome system.

About the Author: Stephen Silver 

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.

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Stephen Silver
Written By

Stephen Silver is a journalist, essayist, and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

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