Russia Reports Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's leading commander.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade defensive systems.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in last year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be complying with standards, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it displayed advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the same year, Russia confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts stated.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to strike goals in the United States mainland."

The same journal also says the missile can operate as low as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for air defences to stop.

The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency last year located a site a considerable distance from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an analyst told the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the location.

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