Moscow Confirms Successful Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the nation's top military official.
"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid defensive systems.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on 21 October.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the media source stated the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was first announced in recent years.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a singular system with global strike capacity."
However, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its integration into the country's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," experts stated.
"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to multiple fatalities."
A military journal referenced in the analysis claims the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be based throughout the nation and still be equipped to reach goals in the United States mainland."
The same journal also explains the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.
The missile, designated a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered powered by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.
An investigation by a reporting service the previous year identified a facility a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.
Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert reported to the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the site.
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