Russia Announces Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's top military official.
"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.
The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.
The national leader declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.
The general stated the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the evaluation on the specified date.
He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the general as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a singular system with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the corresponding time, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.
"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to multiple fatalities."
A military journal quoted in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to target goals in the continental US."
The same journal also explains the projectile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to stop.
The weapon, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.
An examination by a news agency last year located a facility 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the weapon.
Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an analyst informed the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions under construction at the facility.
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