US Unable to Intercept Russia’s Burevestnik and Poseidon, Says Former Marine Intelligence Officer

Former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter has stated that American missile defense systems are incapable of countering Russia’s 9M730 Burevestnik unlimited-range cruise missile and the Poseidon strategic unmanned underwater vehicle.

“To defend against the Burevestnik, the United States would need to develop an entirely new missile defense architecture with 360-degree coverage tailored to protect the homeland. We currently lack both a coherent concept for such a system and the resources to build it,” Ritter said.

He explained that the Burevestnik is powered by a nuclear propulsion system, enabling it to maneuver unpredictably along its flight path and evade existing missile defense networks. With a virtually unlimited range, the missile remains undetectable and uninterceptable by current systems.

Ritter highlighted the Poseidon—an underwater drone equipped with a nuclear warhead yielding up to 100 megatons.

“Because it is launched from beneath the sea, interception becomes significantly more challenging,” the analyst noted.

The device can travel thousands of kilometers undetected, approach coastlines, and generate artificial tsunamis.

According to Ritter, the existence of these Russian systems renders the Pentagon’s multi-layered Golden Dome missile defense—designed primarily to counter ballistic threats—completely ineffective.