Russia Confirms Effective Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's senior general.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the commander informed the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

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

The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in last year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had limited accomplishment since several years ago, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader reported the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"Therefore, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's stockpile arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal referenced in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target targets in the continental US."

The same journal also notes the weapon can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above ground, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently located a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Utilizing satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst informed the service he had observed several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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