Burya
Encyclopedia
The Burya was a trisonic, intercontinental cruise missile
developed by the Lavochkin
design bureau (designation La-350), based on a request for proposal
issued by the Soviet
government in 1954. The purpose of the design competition was to develop a cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear payload to the United States
. Analogous developments in the USA were the SM-62 Snark
and SM-64 Navaho
cruise missiles, particularly the later, which used parallel technology and had similar performance goals.
cruise missile. After cancellation, testing continued as a technology demonstration. The Burya was remarkably advanced for its time, and despite setbacks and several crashes, the vehicle demonstrated a range in excess of 6,000 km with a thermonuclear
(hydrogen) bomb-sized payload at speeds greater than Mach
3. The Burya had a two stage design - the daring concept for an intercontinental missile was the second stage, which was powered by a ramjet
engine at its operational speed of Mach 3. This varied from the original Trommsdorff concept of World War II in that no mother aircraft launch preceded the rocket boosted phase. The first stage was a ballistic-rocket-derived
booster
, which accelerated the Burya to altitude and the speed necessary to light up its ramjet engine: the ramjet was basically worthless at subsonic speeds, and would have become more complex as its operating speed range was broadened.
Successful tests were achieved only several years after the project was cancelled for operational purposes. It was a casualty, like the USAF Navaho, of the greater simplicity and relative invulnerability to interception of pure ballistic missiles. The missile was an early precursor to the Zvezda and Buran
projects.
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
developed by the Lavochkin
Lavochkin
NPO Lavochkin is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of the Fregat upper stage, as well as interplanetary probes such as Phobos Grunt...
design bureau (designation La-350), based on a request for proposal
Request for Proposal
A request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
issued by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
government in 1954. The purpose of the design competition was to develop a cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear payload to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Analogous developments in the USA were the SM-62 Snark
SM-62 Snark
-External links:** Air Force Magazine article about a Snark that was test-fired and rumored to have been found in Brazil** detailed article on Snark and the USAF school to train personnel for it...
and SM-64 Navaho
SM-64 Navaho
The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles...
cruise missiles, particularly the later, which used parallel technology and had similar performance goals.
Development
The Burya was planned as a Mach 3 intercontinental nuclear armed ramjetRamjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
cruise missile. After cancellation, testing continued as a technology demonstration. The Burya was remarkably advanced for its time, and despite setbacks and several crashes, the vehicle demonstrated a range in excess of 6,000 km with a thermonuclear
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
(hydrogen) bomb-sized payload at speeds greater than Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
3. The Burya had a two stage design - the daring concept for an intercontinental missile was the second stage, which was powered by a ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
engine at its operational speed of Mach 3. This varied from the original Trommsdorff concept of World War II in that no mother aircraft launch preceded the rocket boosted phase. The first stage was a ballistic-rocket-derived
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
booster
Booster rocket
A booster rocket is either the first stage of a multi-stage launch vehicle, or else a strap-on rocket used to augment the core launch vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability. Boosters are generally necessary to launch spacecraft into Earth orbit or beyond...
, which accelerated the Burya to altitude and the speed necessary to light up its ramjet engine: the ramjet was basically worthless at subsonic speeds, and would have become more complex as its operating speed range was broadened.
Successful tests were achieved only several years after the project was cancelled for operational purposes. It was a casualty, like the USAF Navaho, of the greater simplicity and relative invulnerability to interception of pure ballistic missiles. The missile was an early precursor to the Zvezda and Buran
Buran cruise missile
The Buran cruise missile, designation RSS-40, was a Soviet intercontinental cruise missile capable of carrying a 3,500 kg nuclear warhead. The project was canceled before flight tests began.-Development:...
projects.
General characteristics
- Function: Nuclear cruise missile
- Launch mass: 96,000 kg
- Total length: 19.9 m
- Launch platform: Launch pad
- First flight test: 1 July 1957
- Last flight test: 16 December 1960
- Number of successful launches: 14
- Number of failed launches: 3
- Status: Canceled
Launch vehicle (stage 1)
- Function: Multi-purpose launch vehicle
- Engine: 2× Burya booster with S2.1150 engine
- Length: 18.9 m
- Diameter: 1.45 m
- Thrust: 68.61 t
- Oxidizer: Nitric acidNitric acidNitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
- Combustible: AmineAmineAmines are organic compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines,...
Cruise missile (stage 2)
- Engine: 1× RD-012U ramjet
- Speed : Mach 3.1-3.2
- Range: 8,500 km
- Flight altitude: 18-20 km
- Warhead: thermonuclearNuclear fusionNuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
, 2190 kg - Length: 18.0 m
- Diameter: 2.20 m
- Wing span: 7.75 m
- Wing area: 60 m²