Russia Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

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

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The general reported the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

However, as an international strategic institute commented the identical period, Russia faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

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

A military journal cited in the report states the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target targets in the American territory."

The identical publication also notes the weapon can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently identified a site 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had identified multiple firing positions in development at the location.

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