Moscow Announces Effective Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the country's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the general told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been held in last year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov said the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on 21 October.

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

"Consequently, it displayed advanced abilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the outlet stated the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic 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: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

However, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Moscow faces significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing several deaths."

A military journal quoted in the analysis claims the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach goals in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An investigation by a news agency the previous year identified a location a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert reported to the service he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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