Moscow Confirms Successful Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's top military official.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid defensive systems.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The general reported the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.
He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were found to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the general as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.
A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a singular system with global strike capacity."
However, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.
"There were several flawed evaluations, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the report asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be able to target objectives in the United States mainland."
The corresponding source also notes the missile can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.
The weapon, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a news agency recently pinpointed a location 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Using space-based photos from August 2024, an analyst informed the agency he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the facility.
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