Russia Reports Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile
Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the nation's leading commander.
"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov told the Russian leader in a televised meeting.
The terrain-hugging prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to bypass defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an arms control campaign group.
The military leader stated the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the test on 21 October.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was first announced in recent years.
A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
However, as a global defence think tank noted the identical period, Moscow encounters major obstacles in achieving operational status.
"Its entry into the state's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."
A military journal referenced in the study claims the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be able to reach targets in the United States mainland."
The identical publication also notes the projectile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to stop.
The weapon, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.
An investigation by a news agency last year identified a location 295 miles above the capital as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Employing orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist reported to the agency he had observed nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the facility.
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