Russia Announces Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's leading commander.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The general stated the projectile was in the sky for 15 hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source reported the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in recent years.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

However, as an international strategic institute observed the same year, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the nation's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

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

A defence publication referenced in the report states the missile has a range of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be equipped to reach objectives in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the missile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a reporting service recently located a site a considerable distance above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Using space-based photos from last summer, an expert reported to the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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