Russia Confirms Effective Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's leading commander.

"We have executed 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 general informed the head of state in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on 21 October.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

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

Yet, as a global defence think tank noted the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts stated.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A defence publication quoted in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to target targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also notes the weapon can operate as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to engage.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.

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

Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an analyst told the outlet he had identified several deployment sites in development at the location.

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