Defense & Aerospace Report DEFAERO Daily Pod [Nov 04, 25] Montgomery and Clark on Super Weapons and What Comes Next
Nov 4, 2025
Bryan Clark, a retired U.S. Navy officer now with the Hudson Institute, and Mark Montgomery, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, dive deep into the implications of Russia's recent 'super' weapons. They discuss the operational significance of nuclear-powered cruise missiles and advanced torpedoes, and how these could shift global deterrence. The duo also examines Ukraine's resilience in the face of Russian tactics targeting energy infrastructure, and the transformative potential of U.S. munitions like the Extended Range Attack Munition.
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Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile Risks
- Russia's Burevestnik is a nuclear-powered cruise missile that promises extremely long range but carries serious contamination and operational risks.
- Its nuclear propulsion blurs lines between conventional and strategic attack, making it more a nuclear-domain problem than a tactical game-changer.
Hypersonics Stress Defenses
- Russia's Kinzhal and similar hypersonic weapons change the tactical landscape by stressing existing interceptors and missile defenses.
- Production scale and evolving flight profiles are the major concern, not just single-weapon novelty.
Underwater Nuke As Escalation Tool
- The Poseidon/Status-6 underwater vehicle is more a tool for escalation messaging than a practical tsunami weapon.
- Its liquid-metal reactor design and likely contamination make deployment and control problematic.