Russia Reports Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the state's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander informed President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-flying experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had limited accomplishment since 2016, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

The general said the weapon was in the air for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Consequently, it demonstrated high capabilities to circumvent defensive networks," the media source reported the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, Russia encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident resulting in several deaths."

A defence publication cited in the report states the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be capable to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the weapon can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, code-named a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a media outlet the previous year pinpointed a facility a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert reported to the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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