Moscow Confirms Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's leading commander.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov informed the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.

The general stated the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were confirmed as complying with standards, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in the past decade.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the identical period, Moscow confronts considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists wrote.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical cited in the report claims the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to strike goals in the continental US."

The same journal also explains the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An investigation by a news agency recently located a site 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the missile.

Using space-based photos from last summer, an specialist told the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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