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satellite imagery shows what is believed to be a russian nuclear-powered cruise missile deployment, including five nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) and launch sites.

two u.s. researchers said they had identified possible russian deployment sites for the 9m370 petrel, a new type of nuclear-powered cruise missile that president vladimir putin has described as "invincible."

russia's new missile fixed launch system discovered?

putin said the missile system, known as the ssc-x-9 skyfall by nato, has an almost unlimited range and can evade u.s. missile defenses. but some western experts have questioned the strategic value of the petrel, saying it would not add capabilities moscow does not already have and could cause a nuclear radiation accident.

it is reported that two american researchers used images taken by the commercial satellite company planet labs on july 26 to identify a construction project adjacent to a nuclear warhead storage facility. the facility has two names: vologda-20 and chebasara, and is a potential deployment site for russia's new missiles. the facility is located 295 miles (475 kilometers) north of moscow.

the picture shows the concept map of the "haiyan" nuclear-powered cruise missile

decker eveleth, an analyst at cna research and analysis, found the satellite imagery and identified nine horizontal launch pads under construction. he said the pads are grouped in three groups and are located within elevated berms to protect against external attack or to prevent an accidental explosion at one pad from detonating missiles at other pads.

eveleth concluded that the missile maintenance buildings were connected to the existing complex of five nuclear warhead storage bunkers via these berm roads.

"the base will be home to a large fixed-launch missile system, and the only large fixed-launch missile system that russia is currently developing is skyfall," eveleth said.

the russian defense ministry and the russian embassy in washington did not respond to requests for comment from eveleth on the petrel's assessment, strategic value, test record and risks.

a kremlin spokesman said those questions were the responsibility of the defense department and declined to comment further. the state department, cia, office of the director of national intelligence and the air force’s national air and space intelligence center also declined to comment.

us expert: moscow doesn't usually do this

eveleth and another researcher, jeffrey lewis of the middlebury institute of international studies at monterey, said identifying a possible launch site for the petrel missile indicated that russia was already moving toward deploying the missile after a series of testing problems in recent years.

lewis said the satellite images "show something very unique, very different" and that we have long known that russia is developing this nuclear-powered cruise missile.

the picture shows the "haiyan" nuclear-powered cruise missile test missile released by the russian ministry of defense in 2018

hans kristensen of the federation of american scientists, who also studied the vologda images at eveleth's request, said the satellite images appeared to show launch pads and other features that could be associated with haiyan. but he also said a definitive assessment was not possible because moscow did not typically place missile launchers next to nuclear warhead storage sites.

lewis and eveleth said that deploying the petrel nuclear-powered cruise missile in vologda would allow the russian military to store the same type of missiles or adapted nuclear warheads in its bunkers, enabling them to be launched quickly.

tass reported on september 1 that russian deputy foreign minister sergei ryabkov said that russia will revise its guidelines for the use of nuclear weapons in response to the west's escalation in the russia-ukraine conflict.

poor testing record

a 2020 report from the u.s. air force's national air and space intelligence center said that if russia successfully puts the "petrel" nuclear-powered cruise missile into service, it will provide moscow with a "unique weapon with intercontinental strike capability."

the haiyan nuclear-powered cruise missile has a poor testing record, with at least 13 known tests since 2016 and only two successful, according to the nuclear threat initiative (nti).

the picture shows the russian military testing the "petrel" nuclear-powered cruise missile

in addition, experts such as cheryl rover, a former us nuclear weapons scientist, said that the missile's nuclear-powered engine could release nuclear radiation during flight, and accidents could also occur at its deployment site, contaminating the surrounding area.

thomas countryman, a former senior official at the u.s. state department's arms control association, agreed, referring to the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster: "skyfall is like a flying chernobyl, and it's a greater threat to russia than to other countries." nato did not respond to questions about how it would respond to the weapon's deployment. at present, the public knows even less about the technical details of the "petrel" nuclear-powered cruise missile.

experts speculate that it will be launched by a small solid-fuel rocket, which will compress air into an engine equipped with a miniature nuclear reactor to provide power, but radioactive material may be discharged with the rocket's tail flame.