Moscow Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander told the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president declared that a "final successful test" of the armament had been conducted in last year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the missile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, Russia encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."

A military journal cited in the report asserts the projectile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be capable to reach targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for air defences to stop.

The missile, designated a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An investigation by a media outlet the previous year located a site 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the missile.

Utilizing orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert told the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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