Moscow Announces Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The general stated the projectile was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.

"Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the outlet stated the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation faces considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists wrote.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the weapon to be based across the country and still be capable to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also notes the missile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, making it difficult for air defences to intercept.

The missile, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a media outlet last year pinpointed a site 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an specialist told the outlet he had identified several deployment sites being built at the location.

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