Russia Confirms Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's top military official.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the general told the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid missile defences.
Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.
The president stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the sky for 15 hours during the test on October 21.
He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent defensive networks," the news agency reported the official as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in 2018.
A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."
However, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the country's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the consistent operation of the atomic power system," analysts noted.
"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an accident causing multiple fatalities."
A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis states the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be able to reach objectives in the United States mainland."
The corresponding source also explains the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.
The weapon, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is supposed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.
An investigation by a media outlet recently located a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.
Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst informed the agency he had observed multiple firing positions under construction at the facility.
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