Moscow Announces Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade missile defences.

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

The president declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since several years ago, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader stated the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were found to be up to specification, based on a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

However, as a foreign policy research organization observed the identical period, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," analysts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to several deaths."

A military journal referenced in the report claims the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target objectives in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the weapon can fly as low as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to stop.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.

An inquiry by a reporting service last year identified a location 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the missile.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist reported to the service he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the site.

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