Moscow Reports Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile
The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.
"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov told the Russian leader in a public appearance.
The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade missile defences.
International analysts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The head of state declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been conducted in 2023, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.
The general said the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the commander as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in recent years.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization observed the corresponding time, Russia encounters major obstacles in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the nation's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts stated.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing a number of casualties."
A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach goals in the American territory."
The identical publication also explains the weapon can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.
The missile, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the sky.
An inquiry by a reporting service last year pinpointed a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Employing space-based photos from last summer, an analyst reported to the agency he had detected multiple firing positions being built at the site.
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