Russia Confirms Effective Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's leading commander.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude advanced armament, first announced in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade missile defences.

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

The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

The general reported the weapon was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the test on the specified date.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.

"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass missile and air defence systems," the outlet reported the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

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

A military journal cited in the study states the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be capable to reach objectives in the American territory."

The same journal also says the missile can fly as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to stop.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a media outlet last year located a facility a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert told the agency he had identified several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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