Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to bypass missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in 2023, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader stated the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to evade defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute commented the same year, Moscow confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," specialists stated.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an incident resulting in a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study states the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be able to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a reporting service last year pinpointed a location 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the missile.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist reported to the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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