Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's leading commander.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade defensive systems.
International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
The general stated the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.
He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet stated the official as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in recent years.
A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of securing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," experts stated.
"There were several flawed evaluations, and an incident resulting in multiple fatalities."
A defence publication referenced in the study states the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the missile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be able to target goals in the American territory."
The same journal also explains the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.
The weapon, code-named an operational name by a foreign security organization, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the atmosphere.
An inquiry by a media outlet recently located a facility 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Using space-based photos from the recent past, an specialist told the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.
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