Russia Reports Accomplished Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's top military official.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been carried out in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation faces significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

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

A military journal referenced in the study asserts the projectile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to strike goals in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as low as a very low elevation above ground, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the air.

An inquiry by a media outlet last year located a facility 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an specialist informed the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the facility.

Related Developments

• Head of State Endorses Modifications to Atomic Policy