Moscow Confirms Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's senior general.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying experimental weapon, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to bypass anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in 2023, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The general said the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the general 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 2021 report by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the corresponding time, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the report states the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, designated Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An examination by a media outlet the previous year located a site 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an expert told the agency he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the location.

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