Moscow Announces Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's leading commander.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had moderate achievement since several years ago, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The general reported the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the news agency reported the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, the nation confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts stated.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an accident causing a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to strike targets in the continental US."

The identical publication also explains the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.

The missile, referred to as Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a media outlet last year pinpointed a site 475km above the capital as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing satellite imagery from the recent past, an specialist told the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions being built at the location.

Associated Updates

• President Authorizes Modifications to Atomic Policy