Moscow Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the nation's top military official.
"We have executed a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass anti-missile technology.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
The head of state stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
The military leader stated the projectile was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be up to specification, as per a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the general as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in the past decade.
A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, Moscow confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the state's inventory potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists noted.
"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."
A defence publication cited in the study asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to reach goals in the United States mainland."
The corresponding source also says the missile can fly as low as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to engage.
The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is believed to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.
An investigation by a news agency recently pinpointed a location 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.
Utilizing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert reported to the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.
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