Russia Announces Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov informed the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to bypass missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.

A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

However, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Russia faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the consistent operation of the atomic power system," analysts stated.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and an incident leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study claims the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the projectile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The weapon, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service recently identified a facility 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert informed the agency he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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