Russia Announces Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov said the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

However, as an international strategic institute noted the same year, Moscow faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the nation's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts wrote.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the study states the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be capable to strike targets in the American territory."

The identical publication also says the missile can fly as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for air defences to intercept.

The weapon, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service last year identified a location 295 miles above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist informed the agency he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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