Moscow Confirms Effective Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the country's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the general told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to evade anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, Moscow confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the nation's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists stated.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."

A defence publication cited in the report asserts the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to reach objectives in the American territory."

The identical publication also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.

The projectile, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the sky.

An investigation by a reporting service recently located a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing satellite imagery from last summer, an specialist told the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.

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