Moscow Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the general reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader said the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, as per a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the media source reported the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, the nation faces significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the country's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists wrote.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal cited in the report asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the weapon can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service recently pinpointed a facility a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert reported to the service he had observed several deployment sites being built at the facility.

Related Developments

• National Leader Approves Amendments to Nuclear Doctrine