Russia Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the nation's leading commander.
"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the general told the head of state in a televised meeting.
The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.
Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the test on 21 October.
He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were confirmed as complying with standards, based on a local reporting service.
"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency stated the official as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the identical period, Russia confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing a number of casualties."
A defence publication cited in the report states the projectile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be based across the country and still be capable to strike objectives in the continental US."
The identical publication also notes the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to stop.
The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.
An examination by a media outlet the previous year located a facility 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.
Utilizing satellite imagery from the recent past, an specialist reported to the outlet he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.
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