Moscow Reports Effective Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the country's leading commander.

"We have conducted a extended 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 advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had limited accomplishment since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the sky for 15 hours during the test on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the media source reported the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the nation's arsenal arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the analysis states the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, enabling "the weapon to be based throughout the nation and still be able to reach objectives in the American territory."

The same journal also explains the projectile can travel as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above ground, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the air.

An examination by a media outlet recently identified a site 295 miles above the capital as the likely launch site of the missile.

Using space-based photos from August 2024, an specialist reported to the outlet he had identified several deployment sites being built at the site.

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