Russia building nuclear-tipped missiles ‘straight out of the Cold War’ | World | News
Russia has built a ‘Cold War-inspired’ nuclear weapon, according to an official assessment from the Pentagon, as the coiuntry continues its attempted invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is expanding his nuclear arsenal not only to bolster his flagging fortunes on the battlefield but also as a reaction to worldwide fears over the potential outbreak of WW3.
The Russian President has now opted for the return of ‘nuclear-tipped’ air-to-air missiles, a weapon eerily similar to those used by the Soviet Union during tensions with the US.
This is according to the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and its unclassified Worldwide Threat Assessment for 2025. presented to the Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations United States House of Representatives, and is also available to view online.
The report explains: “Russia is expanding its nuclear forces by adding new capabilities, including nuclear air-to-air missiles and novel nuclear systems. Russia probably maintains a nuclear stockpile of about 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and up to 2,000 non-strategic warheads.”
Nuclear-armed air-to-air missiles were initially designed during the height of the Cold War to destroy bomber formations. These missiles functioned primarily as area-effect weapons.
Though the type of nuclear-armed air-to-air missile remains undisclosed, the R-37M is the only named tactical or strategic weapon of this kind named in the report.
It is a product of the Vympel missile design bureau that was developed for the MiG-31 Foxhound heavy interceptor before then being adopted by the Su-30SM and Su-35S Flanker multirole fighters, as well as the Su-57 Felon stealth fighter.
The R-37M, one of the more notable threats being used during the Russia–Ukraine war, dates back to the early 1990s with the original missile – izdeliye 610 – first launched in 1993, destroying an aerial target 142 miles away. Despite further successful tests of these weapons, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the the improved MiG-31M being cancelled.
It was then revisited at the beginning of the 2000s, with development now focused on an enhanced R-37M, or izdeliye 610M. Weighing 1,124 pounds and 13 feet long, the R-37M is intended to engage large and less agile targets at considerable range.
The weapon is driven by a dual-pulse solid-propellant rocket motor that propels it toward its target, while mid-course updates are provided by the launch aircraft. In the terminal phase, its onboard dual-band active radar seeker is reportedly capable of locking onto a target with a radar cross-section of 54 square feet from a distance of over 25 miles.
Since a nuclear warhead is also available for the missile’s predecessor, the R-33, it would make good sense that the R-37M is also capable of being armed with an alternative nuclear warhead. Should this be the case, both weapons would be the only nuclear-armed air-to-air missiles in service anywhere in the world.
By all indications, the R-37M stands as a highly capable long-range missile—but the reported presence of a nuclear-armed variant adds a layer of strategic complexity that few, if any, modern air-to-air weapons can rival.
