Russia Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-flying experimental weapon, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The national leader declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader reported the weapon was in the air for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

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

"Consequently, it displayed advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency reported the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the country's stockpile arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," analysts wrote.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing multiple fatalities."

A military journal referenced in the report claims the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also says the missile can travel as low as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the air.

An investigation by a news agency last year identified a location a considerable distance north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Using orbital photographs from the recent past, an analyst informed the service he had observed several deployment sites in development at the facility.

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