Moscow Announces Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, first announced in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

The general stated the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were confirmed as up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet reported the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."

A defence publication cited in the study states the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target goals in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to stop.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.

An investigation by a media outlet recently located a location 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst reported to the agency he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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