Moscow Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the country's leading commander.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid missile defences.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.
The president said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
The general said the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, according to a national news agency.
"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the official as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in recent years.
A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a singular system with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the corresponding time, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the country's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts wrote.
"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to multiple fatalities."
A defence publication referenced in the analysis states the missile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach goals in the continental US."
The corresponding source also says the weapon can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.
The weapon, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.
An investigation by a media outlet the previous year identified a site 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the weapon.
Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an analyst told the agency he had identified multiple firing positions in development at the location.
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