Moscow Announces Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's top military official.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass anti-missile technology.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The national leader said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since several years ago, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader reported the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to evade defensive networks," the media source reported the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," experts wrote.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."

A defence publication cited in the analysis states the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be capable to reach targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be powered by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the sky.

An investigation by a media outlet recently identified a site a considerable distance from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an specialist told the agency he had detected several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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