Russia Confirms Effective Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the nation's leading commander.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to the head of state in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, first announced in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid missile defences.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

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

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, the nation faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the nation's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts wrote.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study asserts the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the American territory."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a reporting service the previous year located a site 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using space-based photos from August 2024, an analyst told the service he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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