Russia Confirms Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's senior general.

"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The general stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were determined to be up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and an accident causing a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be stationed across the country and still be capable to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, making it difficult for air defences to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after initial propulsion units have launched it into the air.

An inquiry by a reporting service the previous year located a facility 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using satellite imagery from last summer, an expert informed the outlet he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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