Moscow Announces Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to bypass anti-missile technology.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in 2023, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov reported the projectile was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

However, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Russia confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the country's inventory potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists stated.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing a number of casualties."

A defence publication referenced in the study asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be able to target targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also notes the missile can travel as low as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.

The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.

An investigation by a news agency last year pinpointed a location 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions under construction at the site.

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