Russia Announces Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's top military official.

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

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade defensive systems.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader said the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were confirmed as up to specification, as per a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass missile and air defence systems," the outlet stated the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, Russia faces significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to multiple fatalities."

A military journal cited in the study states the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the missile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to reach goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the missile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The missile, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service last year identified a site a considerable distance above the capital as the possible firing point of the armament.

Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist reported to the outlet he had detected several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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