Russia Reports Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's leading commander.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov informed the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to bypass missile defences.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The president declared that a "final successful test" of the armament had been held in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.
The military leader stated the missile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the evaluation on 21 October.
He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it displayed superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet reported the official as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.
A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a singular system with global strike capacity."
However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, the nation confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.
"Its integration into the country's inventory likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.
"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to several deaths."
A military journal referenced in the study claims the projectile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike objectives in the United States mainland."
The identical publication also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for air defences to engage.
The missile, referred to as a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.
An inquiry by a news agency last year identified a site a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert informed the agency he had observed nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.
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