Moscow Confirms Successful Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the nation's leading commander.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the commander informed President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov reported the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, based on a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the commander as saying.

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

A previous study by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, the nation faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's inventory potentially relies not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A defence publication quoted in the study states the projectile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the missile to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach objectives in the American territory."

The identical publication also notes the projectile can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the earth, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency recently identified a facility 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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