Hecla and Kemp model the Burevestnik's cruise reactor at 4.3 MWth, with peaks above 15 MWth

Assuming the subsonic direct-cycle nuclear turbojet their open-source analysis points to, Jake J. Hecla and R. Scott Kemp model Russia's Burevestnik missile as requiring a reactor thermal power of 4.3 ± 1.3 MWth at cruise. Peak power demand — during climb and terminal maneuvering — is modeled at more than 15 MWth, roughly three-and-a-half times the cruise figure. The authors note this peak "may be met with a supplemental chemical interburner," i.e. burning conventional fuel to augment the reactor's output during the most demanding flight phases rather than sizing the reactor for the peak.

The estimate is a derived consequence of the airframe geometry and propulsion type the paper constrains from public imagery: given the modeled mass, drag, and subsonic cruise regime, the reactor must deliver power in this band to keep the missile aloft. The wide uncertainty (±1.3 MWth, about ±30%) reflects that these are physics-bounded estimates of a classified system, not disclosed specifications.

The megawatt-scale, unshielded reactor implied here is what underwrites the paper's more striking prediction — that the missile leaves a radioactive exhaust plume detectable by monitoring networks. Whether these modeled figures hold against real-world evidence is tracked in question-verify-burevestnik-radioactive-exhaust-corroboration.