Literally Goranduo
Edited | Goranduo
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While the U.S. is continuously arguing whether to supply Ukraine with “Tax” missiles, Russia has already responded with action – a “response” that no one can stop.
On October 21, over the Arctic Circle, a Russian Haiyan cruise missile equipped with a miniature nuclear reactor quietly took off. After flying for 15 hours, it spanned 14,000 kilometers, bypassing all air defense systems and completing a silent and deadly demonstration.
On October 26, Putin announced the “secret operation” and announced the trial was successful. Just a few days ago, the US-Russian Budapest summit was canceled due to a diplomatic breakdown.
While the world is still experiencing technical fatigue from the offensive and defensive tussle between drones and ballistic missiles, what Moscow throws out is a pair of "nuclear-powered scissors" that breaks the rules of the traditional military game.
The “Haiyan” test is not a simple technical verification, but it is to make it clear to the West that Russia has something you can’t defend and can’t replicate.
“Flying Chernobyl” is not just a joke of an American intelligence official. But the real fear of a new era of strategic weapons.The missile completed its test on the New Land Island in the Northern Ice Ocean, carrying a micro-air-cooled nuclear reactor to provide it with theoretically “unlimited duration” capability.
The flight altitude is only 50 to 100 meters, and the speed is maintained at 800 to 1,300 kilometers per hour. During the entire flight, it completes multiple vertical and horizontal maneuvers, completely avoiding the existing interception system.
It doesn’t go high, doesn’t take conventional routes, doesn’t need to rely on ballistic trajectory, and doesn’t even need to inform the launch location, which means it can break through the defensive line of any city from any direction, at any angle.
More importantly, this test in Russia is not the first time.As early as 2018, Putin disclosed the "Petrel" project for the first time, calling it "a weapon that cannot be intercepted by existing air defense systems around the world."
In 2021, Xindi Island conducted preliminary flight verification. In 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense released the statement that "the test has been completed," but the news fell silent.
It was not until now that the trial was suddenly announced successfully – the timing behind it was fairly accurate, just after the US Secretary of State Rubio and Lavrov’s call failed, and the day Trump cancelled the meeting with Putin, Russia completed the test shot.
In the eyes of Putin, diplomacy can be talked about, but the red line is not.If the United States is determined to provide Ukraine with "tacks" missiles with range up to Moscow, then Russia will not play in vain anymore.
Unlike traditional nuclear missiles, the terrible thing about the "Haiyan" is not its lethality, but its lethality It is unpredictable and unstoppable.You can intercept ballistic missiles with an anti-missile system, you can deploy a radar network to listen to the takeoff of the long-range bomber, but the “Haiyan” is an exception.
It glides close to the ground like a ghost, its trajectory can change at any time, and it can even bypass your entire defensive circle and attack from behind. This is not an extension of the "second strike capability", but the beginning of the "zero warning strike".
It's not that the United States hasn't made a similar attempt. The "Pluto" project during the Cold War was essentially the predecessor of "Haiyan". Its goal was to create a nuclear-powered missile that continuously released radiation in flight and had unlimited range.
But in the end, because of environmental pollution and technological risks, they were forced to end. Today, Russia overthrew this "crazy idea abandoned by history", not only completed it, but will also be militarized.
The West has misjudged Russia's strategy more than once. At first, Russia was thought to be just an "oil and gas empire," but the weather changed overnight in Crimea; later, it was thought that the Russian army could only fight traditional wars, but as a result, drones, electric warfare, and long-range fire were launched on the battlefield of Ukraine; now it is thought that Russia's nuclear deterrence can only rely on "Satan" and "vanguard," but as a result, another "Haiyan" emerged that no one could defend against.
More notably, the experiment with the “Haiyan” was not an isolated event.On the day of the test, Glasimov also to Putin the latest progress on the eastern front of Ukraine – 31 Ukrainian military camps were besieged, and 70% of the Volchansk area fell under Russian control.
This is not a coincidence, but a deliberately created "strategic linkage", with the advancement of conventional battlefields and the display of strategic nuclear weapons. From the front line to the strategic rear, we will exert comprehensive pressure on the United States and NATO.
At the same time, Europe has also realized the seriousness of the problem. On August 11, the European Union held an emergency video conference to discuss the 19th round of sanctions against Russia, trying to speak out again on security issues.
Unfortunately, as exposed by the “Haiyan” experiment, Russia’s breakthrough can no longer be curbed by sanctions or diplomatic mediation.
The choice of the United States is even more difficult. On the one hand, Trump must show his support for Ukraine, otherwise he will be accused of being "pro-Russian"; On the other hand, if he really approves Tomahawk military aid, he must face the practical consequences of Russia's possible immediate deployment of Haiyan.
From the "pioneer" high-speed supersonic missiles, to the "Morocco" ship-bound Turkish defense weapons, and to today's "Haiyan", Russia's strategic route has been to first show weapons performance, then shape the "invincible" narrative, and finally serve the geopolitical game.
Of course, this strategy is not without its cost. The risk of nuclear-powered missiles releasing radioactive waste gas in flight is extremely high. Once they get out of control or crash, the consequences will be unimaginable.
The explosion in northern Devinsk in 2019 has warned that future large-scale deployments of “Haiyan” could raise global concerns about nuclear pollution and proliferation.
But for Putin, that’s not the focus.He doesn’t want environmental recognition, but a sense of strategic oppression.As long as the “Haiyan” exists for a day, Western cities have to calculate the risk of being “unstoppable”.
In the future, the deployment of the "Haiyan" will become a key teststone for testing the strategic stability of the United States and Russia.If the United States is technically unable to give a peer-to-peer response, then Russia will have a psychological advantage in the nuclear game.
If the U.S. chooses to restrain the Ukrainian military, then Russia’s “red line” strategy will prove effective. From now on, the world has to accept a reality: Russia has a massacre that can’t be avoided, and it’s no longer a concept, it’s a real flight.
Source: Putin: "Haiyan" nuclear-powered missile completed key tests, no similar product in the world, World Wide Web 2025-10-26 15:11 Beijing