Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the nation's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the general told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass missile defences.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

The military leader stated the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the general as saying.

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

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing a number of casualties."

A defence publication quoted in the report asserts the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the American territory."

The same journal also explains the projectile can operate as low as a very low elevation above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to engage.

The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a news agency last year pinpointed a facility 295 miles above the capital as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Employing space-based photos from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had observed several deployment sites being built at the location.

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