Moscow Confirms Effective Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's leading commander.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to bypass missile defences.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The national leader stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general said the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it demonstrated high capabilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, the nation encounters major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident resulting in several deaths."

A defence publication cited in the analysis asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."

The same journal also notes the projectile can travel as low as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.

The weapon, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency recently identified a facility 475km above the capital as the likely launch site of the armament.

Utilizing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert told the outlet he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

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