Russia Reports Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's senior general.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general told President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had moderate achievement since 2016, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The general stated the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a foreign policy research organization noted the corresponding time, Russia faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an incident causing multiple fatalities."

A military journal referenced in the analysis claims the missile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be capable to reach goals in the American territory."

The same journal also says the projectile can operate as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as an operational name by a foreign security organization, is believed to be driven by a reactor system, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency recently pinpointed a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an analyst told the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.

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