SATELLITE images appearing to show the top secret launch site of Vladimir Putin’s feared ‘Skyfall’ nuke have been revealed.
The Russian tyrant has boasted the 9M370 Burevestnik nuclear-armed cruise missile is “invincible” and has an almost unlimited range making it one of the most powerful weapons in Russia‘s arsenal.
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A pair of US researchers spotted the likely deployment site of the weapon Nato has dubbed “SSC-X-9 Skyfall” in Vologoda, Russia.
Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, say a construction site is being used as a cover for the weapon.
Aerial pictures show a large base, 295 miles north of Moscow, known by two names – Vologda-20 and Chebsara.
Five nuclear warhead storage bunkers can be seen in the images with launch positions also present, the researchers said.
Decker Eveleth, an analyst with the CNA research and analysis organisation, said nine horizontal launch pads are also under construction.
He studied the satellite images and says each pad is located by a high berm in order to shield them from a potential attack.
Decker said that the site is likely being used “for a large, fixed missile system”.
With the Kremlin only said to be developing the Skyfall nuke at the moment, he added.
The Skyfall weapon is widely regarded as a “super weapon” in Vlad’s terrifying arsenal.
A US intelligence assessment back in 2019 said the nuclear-powered Burevestnik may be ready to be deployed in six years – meaning it could be used by 2025.
Putin has labelled it “a radically new type of weaponry” with “unlimited range and unlimited ability to manoeuvre”.
The Burevestnik is a a low-flying stealth cruise missile that is also reportedly undetectable by existing Western missile defences.
The missile would also be able to deliver nuclear warheads anywhere around the globe.
Burevestnik – meaning “storm petrel” in Russian – was described by US military authorities in 2021 as a “unique weapon with intercontinental-range capability”.
It is designed to carry a nuclear warhead, while a built-in mini-size nuclear reactor supposedly provides a range far longer than any previous non-ballistic cruise missiles.
The nuclear energy core in theory could let it fly around the world several times before hitting its target.
It can also follow a flat flight path at extremely low altitudes, making it “invisible” as it flies below the range of most missile detection systems.
The troubled history of the ‘Skyfall’
RUSSIA has made several attempts to test out the unlimited range weapon in the past but reports say none have been successful.
So far, 13 tests of the fearsome missile have failed – some with deadly consequences.
One in 2019 led to the deaths of seven people who attempted to salvage the crashed top-secret missile.
Another test flight of the Skyfall missile happened on January 29, 2020, from Kapustin Yar.
Russia described the test as “moderately successful”.
Little has been made public since then about the progress of Skyfall.
Many of its issues stem from the fact it has a nuclear-powered engine which threatens to drop radiation as it flies, say US researchers.
This has a high chance of contaminating the surrounding region which would end up causing major issues to Russian residents, says Cheryl Rofer, a former U.S. nuclear weapons scientist.
Former US state official Thomas Countryman also said: “The Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries.”
The warhead is part of Putin’s terrifying arsenal of up to 6,000 nukes and other super weapons.
Russia is also known for its terrifying arsenal of thermobaric weapons which can deploy a barrage of fuel-air explosive warheads so powerful they can “melt” an opposing army.
The potential threat of Putin going nuclear has been ongoing since the dictator launched his invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
He has constantly warned the West about his devastating arsenal and has threatened to use them if the war extends past Russia and Ukraine.
In recent weeks, the cross-border fighting and has seen Ukraine get the upper hand with their surprise Kursk invasion.
Dramatic footage from Friday shows the moment a Russian counterattack was foiled by Ukraine with a tiny portion of Putin’s tanks withstanding the crushing defeat.
Just four out of 17 armoured vehicles dispatched to the frontline in Donetsk escaped the kamikaze drone onslaught.
Video shows how Ukraine’s impressive assault drones ruthlessly blitzed Russian troops and tanks.
Other footage shows Russian soldiers trying to escape in the nearby village of Kostyantynivka as Ukrainian fighter pilots eliminate them.
Russia has been desperately trying to regain the upper hand in Ukraine after Zelensky’s forces pushed through into enemy territory on August 6.
Some hundreds of kilometres away from Donetsk in Kursk, Kyiv launched an assault across the border from the Sumy region.
Ukraine’s drone campaign has tirelessly chipped away at Putin’s forces and kit for some two and a half years.
It has successfully held back enemy forces, obliterated vital oil stores and military supplies, blown up key bridges, destroyed naval ships and aircraft and cut down infantry.
Some hundreds of kilometres away from Donetsk in Kursk, Kyiv launched an assault across the border from the Sumy region.
Ukraine’s drone campaign has tirelessly chipped away at Putin’s forces and kit for some two and a half years.
It has successfully held back enemy forces, obliterated vital oil stores and military supplies, blown up key bridges, destroyed naval ships and aircraft and cut down infantry.
Just days ago more footage showed them destroying a Russian truck and bunker with detonation cords painted in classic Ukrainian blue and yellow.
Kyiv claims to control 100 settlements in Kusrk and more than 1,000 square kilometres of enemy soil.
It is also attempting a second surge into Russia in the Belgorod region.
Kyiv’s forces are attacking border checkpoints as Putin’s soldiers desperately fight back to defend their soil, reports say.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said the Ukrainians are trying to “break through the border”.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Hundreds of Russian prisoners of war have also been captured in the daring operation.
The Sun’s Defence Editor Jerome Starkey joined Ukrainian troops in Kursk on Thursday, speaking to Russian citizens who had no idea of the true cost of war until the conflict came crashing home.
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