Moscow Announces Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid missile defences.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were found to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it displayed high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the analysis states the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the missile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, designated an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be powered by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently identified a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the likely launch site of the missile.

Utilizing orbital photographs from the recent past, an specialist reported to the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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