Moscow Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the nation's top military official.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov informed the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to bypass missile defences.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim 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 said the missile was in the sky for 15 hours during the trial on 21 October.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in recent years.

A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

However, as a global defence think tank commented the corresponding time, Russia faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the nation's arsenal arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," analysts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the study states the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to reach objectives in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The projectile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency last year located a facility 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert informed the outlet he had observed several deployment sites being built at the site.

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