Moscow Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's top military official.
"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general told the head of state in a public appearance.
The low-flying prototype missile, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.
International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.
The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been held in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the test on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source stated the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.
A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Yet, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Russia encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts noted.
"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to multiple fatalities."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the study claims the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to target targets in the United States mainland."
The identical publication also says the weapon can operate as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to stop.
The projectile, designated a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is believed to be powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a media outlet recently located a site 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.
Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert reported to the outlet he had detected multiple firing positions in development at the facility.
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