Presenting awards to developers of the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon unmanned submersible

The President's remarks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends.

First of all, congratulations on National Unity Day. This holiday reminds us of the glorious pages in the history of our Fatherland, the importance of our unity, the succession of generations, and our responsibility for Russia's fate.

Today at the Kremlin, we are honouring the people who have exemplified commendable service to our Motherland and have made a significant contribution to ensuring its security and defence capability, as well as strengthening its scientific and industrial potential and technological self-reliance.

Well-deserved state decorations will be awarded to the designers of the Burevestnik strategic unlimited-range cruise missile with a nuclear engine and to the designers of the Poseidon unmanned submersible.

I want to thank you and all the research and development teams - tens of thousands of people who participated in developing this powerful, effective and unique weapon.

It will be no exaggeration to say that the result you have achieved is of historic importance for our nation and for ensuring our security and strategic parity for decades to come - in fact, for the rest of the 21st century.

Burevestnik has surpassed all other known missiles in the world in terms of range. It also boasts high precision, achieved steadily within a pre-calculated timeframe.

I believe foreign specialists were able to learn about these characteristics first-hand since during the testing of Burevestnik on October 21, a NATO reconnaissance vessel was continuously present in the trial zone. We did not interfere with its operation. They were allowed to watch.

I want to highlight the unique mode of powerful ultra-small nuclear reactors in this missile. Their launch takes seconds, whereas regular reactors take hours or even a whole day.

On the basis of such power systems, we are already developing a new generation of weapons. Moreover, we have launched the development of next-generation nuclear-powered cruise missiles. Their speed will be more than three times the speed of sound. Subsequently, they will become hypersonic. We have recently discussed this project with some of our colleagues present here in this hall.

To be continued.