Petrel (rocket)

Petrel is a global-range intercontinental cruise missile.

The appearance of the rocket according to data for 2023

2023: Putin reports on the latest successful test of Petrel

During a speech at the Valdai Forum in October 2023, Vladimir Putin announced the successful last test of the Petrel and its imminent delivery to the troops. Indeed, satellite photos, NOTAM and the departure of NATO "radiation sniffers" aircraft show that Petrel flew.

"Judging by the lack of isotope registration in Norway (tests were specially carried out over the Barents Sea so that NATO could accurately make sure that there were no isotope emissions), the Russians have a" harmless, "closed cycle" reactor, the atomic scientists argue. They also note that Petrel is not a continent-carrying exterminator - just "the Russians have a rocket that can fly for years."

In addition, now it can be stated that for the first time in the history of civilization, a flight on a nuclear rocket engine took place on Earth (science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s predicted it for starships for deep space exploration).

2020: NATO confirms Russia has missile that can fly indefinitely

In 2020, the head of NATO military intelligence announced the possibility of a missile "endlessly flying in anticipation, maneuvering, and attacking from unexpected directions."

2018: Vladimir Putin mentions missile for the first time

Vladimir Putin announced the existence of the rocket during a "rocket" appeal in 2018.

Reactions ranged from distrust to ridicule of "Putin's cartoons" - after all, missiles and aircraft with a nuclear power plant in the United States have been trying to create since the 1950s (Pluto and SLAM projects). The main problems were air contamination from a nuclear rocket engine during flight (although this is no longer important during the "nuclear") and the power of a compact reactor.

However, the CIA, RUMO and the NSA confirmed the existence of the missile (like Sarmat, Poseidon, Avangard, etc.), they were constantly mentioned in reviews of Russian arsenals from BAS, reports from Stratfor and RAND. Western media wrote about the unsuccessful tests of the rocket, and Russian media, politicians and Putin "forgot" about it as a click.