Russia Announces Successful Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the state's senior general.

"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, as per an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Consequently, it displayed high capabilities to bypass defensive networks," the outlet reported the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute noted the same year, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

A military journal quoted in the report states the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency recently located a location 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an specialist informed the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the facility.

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