Moscow Announces Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon
Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's senior general.
"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told the head of state 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 missile defences.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.
The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.
The military leader reported the missile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.
He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the outlet stated the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in recent years.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."
Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the corresponding time, the nation faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.
"Its induction into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," analysts stated.
"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an accident causing a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis claims the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to target targets in the American territory."
The identical publication also says the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to stop.
The weapon, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.
An inquiry by a media outlet last year located a facility 295 miles above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.
Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert informed the service he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.
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