Russia Reports Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

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

"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, first announced in recent years, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass defensive systems.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The national leader stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since several years ago, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general said the missile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source quoted the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was first announced in recent years.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation encounters considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the nation's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident causing multiple fatalities."

A military journal cited in the report asserts the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to reach goals in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also notes the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency last year pinpointed a site 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst reported to the agency he had identified multiple firing positions in development at the location.

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