Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-altitude advanced armament, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The general said the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the trial on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

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

However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, the nation encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts noted.

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

A defence publication quoted in the study asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be able to reach targets in the continental US."

The same journal also says the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An inquiry by a reporting service last year pinpointed a location 475km from the city as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert reported to the service he had observed multiple firing positions under construction at the site.

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