Moscow Reports Accomplished Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to bypass anti-missile technology.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been held in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the test on the specified date.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, based on a national news agency.

"Therefore, it demonstrated advanced abilities to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, the nation faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to multiple fatalities."

A defence publication referenced in the analysis claims the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to reach targets in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the weapon can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The projectile, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency last year identified a location 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an analyst reported to the outlet he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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