Moscow Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander informed the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to bypass missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it displayed superior performance to bypass missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Russia faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the nation's stockpile potentially relies not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing several deaths."

A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the weapon to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to target objectives in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to engage.

The weapon, designated an operational name by a foreign security organization, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a media outlet recently pinpointed a facility 475km north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist informed the service he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the location.

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