Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's leading commander.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the air for a significant duration during the test on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a domestic media outlet.

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

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the same year, Russia confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."

A defence publication referenced in the study asserts the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be capable to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to engage after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a reporting service last year identified a facility 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.

Utilizing orbital photographs from the recent past, an specialist informed the service he had detected several deployment sites in development at the location.

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