Moscow Reports Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to avoid missile defences.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

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

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet reported the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization noted the identical period, Russia faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," specialists noted.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal cited in the report asserts the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to strike objectives in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently identified a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert reported to the service he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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