Moscow Announces Effective Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's senior general.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The national leader stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.
The general said the missile was in the air for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a national news agency.
"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the commander as saying.
The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in 2018.
A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
However, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, Russia encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," experts noted.
"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing a number of casualties."
A defence publication quoted in the report asserts the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, enabling "the missile to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be capable to target objectives in the American territory."
The identical publication also explains the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to stop.
The missile, designated a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a news agency the previous year located a location 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the missile.
Utilizing satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had observed several deployment sites being built at the location.
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