The test of the rocket, also known as “Flying Chernobyl”, takes place against the backdrop of the preparation of the illegitimate President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to meet with US President Donald Trump in Ukraine, which should take place in Alaska on August 15.
Jeffrey Lewis from the California Institute of International Studies of Monterie and Deer Evet from the CNA research-analytical organization, independently of each other, analyzed the Planet Labs satellite images made in recent weeks. They testify to the active training at the Pankovo training ground at the New Earth Archipelago. The photo recorded an increase in the number of personnel, equipment, ships and aircraft previously used to test the “Petrel” in the missile launch area.
According to the researchers, they began to arrive since the end of July. Two testing aircraft stand at the Rogachevo military airfield, at least five ships participating in previous tests, are also recorded by a satellite. According to the tracking site Vesselfinder.com, another ship that also participated in the tests had to arrive on August 12. Reuters confirmed that the site showed the flight of Teriberk’s cargo ship to the New Land.
The media notes that the researchers analyzed the pictures after August 6, when Russia published a warning for sailors in the zone near Pankovo. In the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency found a message about a possible launch window from August 9 to 22.
Evet also drew attention to the movement of the protective shelter of the launcher, which, in his opinion, is a “clear evidence” of preparation for launch. Lewis provided Reuters on August 7, which shows shelters, containers, a crane and a helicopter. “The preparation is in full swing,” he summed up.
In his opinion, the test may take place this week that “potentially can overshadow the Summit of Trump and Putin in Alaska.”
A source in the Western special services also confirmed the preparation for testing the rocket.
The White House, the Pentagon, the CIA and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation abstained from commenting, the author of the article reports.
On August 7, the Norwegian edition of The Barents Observer reports on the archipelago of the New Land in the Arctic, which is designed to deliver nuclear weapons. The media drew attention to the fact that the Russian military announced the closure of airspace from August 7 to August 12, 40 thousand km² along the coast of the New Earth, and five vessels came out of the Pankovo training ground, presumably for “observation positions”.
In 2023, The New York Times, citing satellite pictures, suggested that Russia was preparing for testing a nuclear missile. Then the activation of the preparation characteristic of such tests was also recorded. The publication noted that the Russians from 2017 to 2019 conducted 13 well-known tests of Burevestnik, and all of them were unsuccessful. At the same time, referring to the opinion of experts, Nyt suggested that if this missile is used in wartime, it could destroy large city regions and military facilities.
Last year, Reuters informed that Putin called the “Petrel” rocket with an unlimited range capable of bypassing the US missile defense. However, experts questioned its technical capabilities and strategic value, considering more a political tool.
Context
On August 8, 2019, an explosion thundered at the military training ground near Severodvinsky in the Arkhangelsk region, and the State Corporation Rosatom informed that five of its employees had died. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the explosion occurred during the test of the liquid jet engine. According to the city authorities of Severodvinsk, the explosion caused an increase in the radiation background. Russia limited shipping in the White Sea after the accident.
The Rosatom said that the cause of the incident was a “combination of circumstances”, and this “often” occurs during the testing of new technologies.
On August 12, The New York Times, citing US intelligence, wrote that they experienced a rocket in Russia “Petrel” (according to the classification of NATO – SkyFall). John Bolton, adviser to the President of National Security, said that the event is an example of how Russia is working to create nuclear weapons delivery means, using, in particular, technology stolen from the States.
On August 29, the American CNBC television channel informed that at the military training ground it could not occur during new tests, but when raising the Burevetnik rocket from the bottom of the White Sea after a preliminary unsuccessful launch. According to the interlocutor of the channel, from November 2017 to January 2018, Russia carried out four launches of the “Petrel”, and only one of them ended “relatively successfully”: the rocket flew about 35 km in 2.5 minutes, then lost control and fell. In 2018, CNBC reported that Russia is preparing a rescue operation to search and raise missiles. According to a source close to intelligence, on August 8, an explosion occurred on one of the Russian ships participating in the operation to raise the “Petrel”, he caused a reaction in the active zone of the rocket reactor, which led to a radiation leak.
“Radio Liberty” on August 29 published its own investigation according to which the version of the emergency during raising the rocket is most likely.
In the end The United States came to the conclusion that the explosion near Severodvinsky occurred during the raising of the Burevetnik missile with a nuclear installation from the bottom of the White Sea, the US State Department said in October 2019.
