Moscow Reports Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's leading commander.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general told the Russian leader 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 capability to evade anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in the previous year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Moscow confronts significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the nation's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

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

A defence publication referenced in the study states the missile has a range of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be based across the country and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the projectile can operate as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the air.

An investigation by a news agency recently identified a facility a considerable distance north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst informed the agency he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the location.

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