Russia Announces Successful Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since several years ago, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov reported the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, as per a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, the nation confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the nation's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the analysis claims the missile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be capable to reach goals in the American territory."

The identical publication also explains the missile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after initial propulsion units have launched it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency recently identified a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist reported to the outlet he had identified several deployment sites in development at the site.

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