Moscow Confirms Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the country's top military official.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the commander informed the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The head of state stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.
Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the air for a significant duration during the test on 21 October.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be up to specification, according to a national news agency.
"As a result, it displayed advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as an international strategic institute commented the same year, Russia faces significant challenges in developing a functional system.
"Its entry into the country's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," experts wrote.
"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing several deaths."
A defence publication cited in the report states the missile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."
The corresponding source also notes the projectile can travel as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above ground, making it difficult for air defences to stop.
The missile, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a reactor system, which is intended to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.
An inquiry by a news agency the previous year pinpointed a facility 295 miles above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.
Employing satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst informed the service he had detected several deployment sites in development at the site.
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