The US has unveiled its newest nuclear-capable stealth cruise missile – the AGM-181 Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) – just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly touted trials of Russia’s Burevestnik and Poseidon systems.
As per the Defense News report, a US Air Force B-52 bomber was photographed over California carrying what analysts say is the first visible prototype of the LRSO, one of the most secretive weapons in the US nuclear modernization program.
The sighting, captured by aviation photographer Ian Recchio, showed the bomber flying with “two unusual weapons” mounted beneath its wing – missiles that matched official renderings of the AGM-181 released earlier this year.
As Recchio’s images circulated, experts quickly concluded the resemblance was “too close to dismiss.” The B-52 bore orange test markings, indicating an official flight evaluation rather than a routine training sortie.
The flight occurred shortly after Putin again promoted Russia’s nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone, describing them as key elements of Moscow’s strategic arsenal.
Poseidon (NATO: Kanyon), essentially a nuclear-powered long-range torpedo, and the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile, were both announced as part of Putin’s “super weapons” program in 2018. Unlike Russia’s other strategic systems, these two rely on onboard nuclear reactors for propulsion.
Russian media have previously issued conflicting reports about Poseidon’s production and deployment timelines, with grand claims in 2019 and 2023 that appear inconsistent with Putin’s latest statements.
US defense analysts believe Washington’s sudden visibility on the LRSO program was deliberate.
“It was a calculated signal,” one analyst said.
With its stealthy design, radar-absorbent materials, and W80-4 variable-yield warhead, the LRSO is engineered to “slip through radar networks” and strike from more than 2,400 km (1,491 miles) away.
The missile, developed by Raytheon, will replace the aging AGM-86 and is expected to equip both the B-52 Stratofortress and the new B-21 Raider bomber.
The $16 billion program is set to enter low-rate production in 2027.
Strategically, the LRSO gives Washington a flexible nuclear option – a weapon that can be launched, redirected, or recalled mid-flight.
As one assessment put it, the LRSO is “a ghost in the air,” designed not to intimidate with spectacle but to ensure survivable, credible deterrence.
“The timing of this public reveal couldn’t be clearer. As Russia flaunts its exotic Burevestnik missile and China accelerates its own nuclear modernization, the United States is demonstrating that its deterrent edge remains very much intact,’ the report added.
In late October, Putin claimed that Russia had successfully tested two of its most controversial nuclear-powered weapons: the Poseidon underwater torpedo and the Burevestnik cruise missile.
Speaking to veterans at a hospital, he boasted that Poseidon “has no equivalent” in speed or operating depth and cannot be intercepted, according to state media – though he provided no details about the test’s range, location, or results.
Putin also said Poseidon’s destructive power “significantly exceeds” that of Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat ICBM, even though Sarmat’s 2024 test reportedly failed and destroyed a silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
He nevertheless insisted the Sarmat would soon enter combat duty.