Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's top military official.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in 2018, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade missile defences.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.
The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, based on an arms control campaign group.
The general said the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were found to be up to specification, based on a local reporting service.
"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Moscow confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to multiple fatalities."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be based across the country and still be equipped to strike goals in the American territory."
The corresponding source also says the missile can fly as low as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for air defences to engage.
The missile, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is believed to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.
An inquiry by a news agency the previous year located a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an specialist told the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.
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