WAR The Skyfall Accident…a long flying Russian WMD…and something new to worry about

[SurvivalRing]

I’ve watched a few videos of the Dark Footage channel, and came across this vid last night. The video talks about a nuclear powered missile developed by the Russians, that can fly forever, at speeds up to Mach 20.

Video was posted to yootuub yesterday. I recalled that the US worked on a similar project decades ago. Below is the history of that American self-preservation attempt.

Many years ago, the scientists of the USA developed their own nuclear missile project. It was called Project Pluto.

“The Supersonic Low Altitude Missile or SLAM was a U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons project conceived around 1955, and cancelled in 1964. SLAMs were conceived of as unmanned nuclear-powered ramjetscapable of delivering thermonuclear warheads deep into enemy territory. The development of ICBMs in the 1950s rendered the concept of SLAMs obsolete.

Advances in defensive ground radar also made the stratagem of low-altitude evasion ineffective. Although it never proceeded beyond the initial design and testing phase before being declared obsolete, the design contained several radical innovations as a nuclear delivery system.



Conceived role

Tory II-A

Tory II-C

The SLAM was designed to complement the doctrine of mutually assured destruction and as a possible replacement for, or augment to, the Strategic Air Command system. In the event of nuclear war it was intended to fly below the cover of enemy radar at supersonic speeds and deliver thermonuclear warheads to roughly 16 targets.

Innovations
The use of a nuclear engine in the airframe promised to give the missile staggering and unprecedented low-altitude range, estimated to be roughly 113,000 miles (182,000 km) (over 4.5 times the equatorialcircumference of the Earth).
Despite misinformed public opinion, the idea that the engine could act as a secondary weapon for the missile is not practical.[1][2] According to Dr. Theodore C. Merkle, the head of Project Pluto, in both his testimony to Congress and in a publication regarding the nuclear ramjet propulsion system, he reassures both Congress and the public of this fact.

[3][4]Specifically, he states "The reactor radiations, while intense, do not lead to problems with personnel who happen to be under such a power plant passing overhead at flight speed even for very low altitudes."[citation needed] In both documents, he describes calculations that prove the safety of the reactor and its negligible release of fission products compared to the background.

Along the same vein of these calculations, the missile would be moving too quickly to expose any living things to prolonged radiation needed to induce radiation sickness. This is due to the relatively low population of neutrons that would make it to the ground per kilometer, for a vehicle traveling at several hundred meters per second. Any radioactive fuel elements within the reactor itself would be contained and not stripped by the air to reach the ground.[citation needed]

Supersonic Low Altitude Missile - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Russia's Most Secret Nuclear Missile Explodes? The Skyfall Accident

Russia's Most Secret Nuclear Missile Explodes? The Skyfall Accident

Dark Footage
57,042 views
Sep 24, 2021

The 9M730 Burevestnik Petrel, or SSC-X9 Skyfall, is a state-of-the-art Russian experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile.

The Skyfall is only one of six strategic weapons unveiled by President Vladimir Putin since March of 2018. Although not much is known about it, several sources claim that the missile has virtually unlimited range and lethal capabilities.

In August of 2019, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom confirmed that the release of radiation at the Nyonoksa missile testing site near Severodvinsk was linked to an incident involving a classified missile. The incident became known as the Skyfall accident, as many experts and journalists believe the secret Russian missile was probably involved. --

- Dark Footage showcases the most unbelievable photos and videos from history while telling the stories behind the camera. Featuring military, space, aircraft and real-life historic events caught on tape.

View: https://youtu.be/jO6tKoM3zeg


Runtime = 9m, 52s

 

[Samuel Adams]

Don’t all missiles have “lethal capabilities” ?

 

[Doc1]

As Rich (and many readers here) know, I've been studying nuclear war for decades and came up with my own postulate:

"Weapons (types) are never retired, except for reasons of obsolescence. Any weapon not retired is eventually used."

One can see this is every type of weapon over time. The caveman's rock used to hit enemies still has its corollary in various striking weapons used today. Swords and spears - edged weapons - are still used. Firearms have been around for centuries and yes, we still use firearms. Submarines have been around for centuries and are still used.

Obviously, the exact weapon isn't still used. David Bushnell's Revolutionary War Turtle submarine or the Confederate Hunley don't see duplicates in use today, but that type of weapon - i.e. a submersible warship - is still produced and with capabilities that would've astounded messrs Bushnell and Hunley. Ancient armies used forms of biological weapons and incendiaries.

Similarly, the Hiroshima bomb - huge, primitive and of very low yield - seems like a relic today, but it destroyed tens of thousands of souls in less than the blink of an eye. It goes without saying that we still used nuclear weapons to this day.

Humanity has been discovering technology for doing ourselves in for tens of thousands of years and similarly, human leaders have been perfecting the methods of using that technology over the same period. In the nuclear era, a balance of terror has reined in the more adventurous types and - at least since WWII - prevented them from getting too froggy in international affairs.

Ultimately, President Biden's greatest weakness and danger is that other leaders will see him as weak and incapable, perhaps leading some to contemplate nuclear weapons usage that they'd never have considered under the Trump administration.

Best
Doc

 

[The Mountain]

The Russians have built the "Flying Screwdriver"?

Interesting.

I know there's a thread somewhere here on the board about the American version, and how some junior engineer comes across the plans every ten years or so, and the crusty old guys have to explain why it wasn't as great an idea as it appears to be.

 

[vector7]

Watch what they (Russia and China) have been pouring billions in R&D for decades. Russia is one of the only countries in the world that has prepared fallout shelters for all their citizens. Russia is the country really preparing to First Strike America without warning.

China has groomed the ground troops and naval logistics to move it all. Once America's out of the way. The rest the world will fall in place for them both.

 

[rob0126]

Mach 20 is what, 3 miles per second?

Thats getting close to flying saucer tech speed.

quote from history.com:

In the Nimitz incident, radar operators say they tracked one of the UFOs as it dropped from the sky at more than 30 times the speed of sound.

Is putin putting some of that tech to work?

Why wont the world elites put that tech to work for good and not evil? (rhetorical question)

 

[Red Baron]

I think Mach 20 is a little optimistic?

 

[Thinwater]

We, the USA, had a mishap making these 50 years ago. The area is basically unsuitable for humans to this day.

 

[fi103r]

Look up Project Pluto and be very afraid
even the weapons designers decided this was too much
nuke powered supersonic cruise missle tossing out h-bombs while churning out radioactive exhaust a sort of mobile Chernobyl but they did test it and it did work

 

[Publius]

I think Mach 20 is a little optimistic?

I agree as the air no longer cools it! The friction from the air passing over and around it actually heats it up to the point it gets very hot to the point stuff melts and burns up.

 

[SurvivalRing]

Look up Project Pluto and be very afraid
even the weapons designers decided this was too much

nuke powered supersonic cruise missle tossing out h-bombs while churning out radioactive exhaust a sort of mobile Chernobyl but they did test it and it did work

Yep, they were very concerned about the side effects of flying death dispersal system. The bonus? A Supersonic *LOW* altitude nuclear weapon flying all over the countryside terrorizing the populace with sonic booms over and over…

What’s interesting is that during development at a location called “401”, some of the hardware required for the construction was 25 miles (40 km) of oil well casing, which was necessary to store the approximately 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) of pressurized air used to simulate ramjet flight conditions for Pluto. That’s difficult to even comprehend in our world…

The principle behind the nuclear ramjet was relatively simple: motion of the vehicle pushed air in through the front of the vehicle (ram effect), a nuclear reactor heated the air, and then the hot air expanded at high speed out through a nozzle at the back, providing thrust.

The notion of using a nuclear reactor to heat the air was fundamentally new. Unlike commercial reactors, which are surrounded by concrete, the Pluto reactor had to be small and compact enough to fly, but durable enough to survive a 7,000-mile (11,000 km) trip to a potential target. The nuclear engine could, in principle, operate for months, so a Pluto cruise missile could be left airborne for a prolonged time before being directed to carry out its attack.

The success of this project would depend upon a series of technological advances in metallurgy and materials science. Pneumatic motors necessary to control the reactor in flight had to operate while red-hot and in the presence of intense radiation.

The need to maintain supersonic speed at low altitude and in all kinds of weather meant that the reactor, code-named "Tory", had to survive high temperatures and conditions that would melt the metals used in most jet and rocket engines.

Ceramicfuel elements would have to be used; the contract to manufacture the 500,000 pencil-sized elements was given to the Coors Porcelain Company.

The proposed use for nuclear-powered ramjets would be to power a cruise missile, called SLAM, for Supersonic Low Altitude Missile. In order to reach ramjet speed, it would be launched from the ground by a cluster of conventional rocket boosters.

Once it reached cruising altitude and was far away from populated areas, the nuclear reactor would be made critical. Since nuclear power gave it almost unlimited range, the missile could cruise in circles over the ocean until ordered "down to the deck" for its supersonic dash to targets in the Soviet Union.

The SLAM, as proposed, would carry a payload of many nuclear weapons to be dropped on multiple targets, making the cruise missile into an unmanned bomber. It was proposed that after delivering all its warheads, the missile could then spend weeks flying over populated areas at low altitudes, causing secondary damage from radiation.

However, the high speed of the missile would spread direct radiation from the reactor over a large territory, keeping ground exposure to low levels. Little to no fallout would be created as the reactor elements would have to be resistant to the airstream in order to function for any time.

When the vehicle would eventually crash after exhausting its fuel or due to a mechanical failure, a local radiation hazard would be created by the reactor. Compared to the primary payload, the effect would not be significant.

The output at exhaust of any value of M>1 with an unfiltered fuel source, as Pluto was designed, consisting of a reactor of any size sufficient to create the desired Mach number would create significant radioactive fallout along its trajectory regardless of exhaust nozzle configuration even though that configuration would affect dispersal patterns.

The apparent discrepancy of information regarding collateral radioactive damage and the minimizing of its effects in online documents arises from the fact that most sources referencing the Pluto project use official government project information. This was released at a time when the project scientists themselves were still coming to a more accurate and consistent appreciation of radioactive fallout.

On May 14, 1961, the world's first nuclear ramjet engine, "Tory-IIA", mounted on a railroad car, roared to life for a few seconds. Three years later, "Tory-IIC" was run for five minutes at full power. Despite these and other successful tests, the Pentagon, sponsor of the "Pluto project", had second thoughts.

​

The "Tory-IIC" prototype
The weapon was considered "too provocative",and it was believed that it would compel the Soviets to construct a similar device, against which there was no known defense. Intercontinental ballistic missile technology had proven to be more easily developed than previously thought, reducing the need for such highly capable cruise missiles. On July 1, 1964, seven years and six months after it was started, "Project Pluto" was canceled.

More info here ::

Project Pluto - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Red Baron]

A Nuclear Supersonic Low Altitude Missile or SLAM is a rather diabolical concept.

In an all out nuclear exchange one has to target known or suspected enemy ICBM locations in order to either suppress or at least reduce the number of missiles incoming. Conversely one has to launch all of one's own ground based ICBMs for the same reason. A "use it or lose it" proposition.

That would be the first phase of a nuclear exchange.

Phase Two would be the targeting of enemy nuclear bomber locations before they could ready and launch.

Phase Three would likely be contingent on target damage assessment, as much as is possible given one's own surviving surveillance platforms. Essentially, what did we miss or not detect initially? I can see submarines being held in reserve for this task.

During all of this, mobile land and ship based nukes would have their own exchanges on more of a tactical level.

In a worst case scenario the expenditure of nuclear weapons would be have to fast and massive to ensure diminishing the enemy's ability to continue launching nuclear weapons.

This likely is where a SLAM could be used as a deterrent functioning a last ditch "doomsday weapon"

Russians seem interested in a "Dead Hand" system where they will still be able to attack despite their command and control system being rendered unusable.

Dozens of Russian SLAM's launched via automated means could roam the continental US threatening major population areas thus providing a significant deterrent against any attack on the their homeland.

 

[Dozdoats]

Not worried. Wish they'd drop one right in my lap, after they parked one on Biden's bald spot.

 

[AlfaMan]

The FOBS (Fractional orbital bombardment system) system would accomplish the same thing at FAR less cost and consequences. And the SLAM missile looks like a Ryan Firebee drone, or a development of the Hound Dog missile (developed around the same time) used as standoff weapons by the B-52 fleet.

 

[SurvivalRing]

A Nuclear Supersonic Low Altitude Missile or SLAM is a rather diabolical concept.

In an all out nuclear exchange one has to target known or suspected enemy ICBM locations in order to either suppress or at least reduce the number of missiles incoming. Conversely one has to launch all of one's own ground based ICBMs for the same reason. A "use it or lose it" proposition.

That would be the first phase of a nuclear exchange.

Phase Two would be the targeting of enemy nuclear bomber locations before they could ready and launch.

Phase Three would likely be contingent on target damage assessment, as much as is possible given one's own surviving surveillance platforms. Essentially, what did we miss or not detect initially? I can see submarines being held in reserve for this task.

During all of this, mobile land and ship based nukes would have their own exchanges on more of a tactical level.

In a worst case scenario the expenditure of nuclear weapons would be have to fast and massive to ensure diminishing the enemy's ability to continue launching nuclear weapons.

This likely is where a SLAM could be used as a deterrent functioning a last ditch "doomsday weapon"

Russians seem interested in a "Dead Hand" system where they will still be able to attack despite their command and control system being rendered unusable.

Dozens of Russian SLAM's launched via automated means could roam the continental US threatening major population areas thus providing a significant deterrent against any attack on the their homeland.

A full blown global thermonuclear war event has been suggested by the folks with the little red buttons, to consist of approximately 6,000 gigatons of splodey, lightey thingies. This is a LOT of nukes…but nowhere near all of them.

Red Baron is correct as far as three (or more) waves of missiles flying to and fro, hither and yon. What’s worse, Democrats will only remember (too late) that they’ve forgotten about global warming…and that THEY just upped warming by a few billion times.

Even then, as any survivors climb out of their bunkers, or steaming piles of rubble, above them, they’ll ** still ** have more nukes at their disposal…and lots and lots of rocks…to fight world war four with…

 

[NoDandy]

Could it be that the supposed leaks from the Russians is just propaganda, and that they have not developed such a device ?

Just asking !

 

[Red Baron]

Could it be that the supposed leaks from the Russians is just propaganda, and that they have not developed such a device ?

Just asking !

Definitely a possibility but the latest incident does at least seem to indicate some kind of a missile launch failure with some radiation being detected afterward.

Russia does appear to at least prototype new planes and armored vehicles but seldom puts them into full production. Likely because of economic reasons, industrial capacity, and large inventories of existing weapon systems which require updating.

 

[SurvivalRing]

Could it be that the supposed leaks from the Russians is just propaganda, and that they have not developed such a device ?

Just asking !

Very possibly. But, as the US spent several years working on Project Pluto, and then pulled the plug…just remember this. There are many things that the US did, that the Russkies built later, and not from original designs.

It’s not out of the ordinary to think that what Putin referred to, and the Russians built, came from our own shores and scientists.

If the story is true about the Russian weapon and what it can do, then someone stole it and shared the previous US plans…

 

[Knoxville's Joker]

Definitely a possibility but the latest incident does at least seem to indicate some kind of a missile launch failure with some radiation being detected afterward.

Russia does appear to at least prototype new planes and armored vehicles but seldom puts them into full production. Likely because of economic reasons, industrial capacity, and large inventories of existing weapon systems which require updating.

I seem to recall some sort of catastrophic missle test that created massive radioactive fallout a while back that was along the lines of this concept.

In space a radioactive ramjet would not work, but the propulsion would be indistinguishable from solar radiation to an extent.