Russia Confirms Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's senior general.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to bypass defensive systems.

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

The head of state declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source stated the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis claims the missile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike goals in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the weapon can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.

The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An inquiry by a news agency recently pinpointed a location 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert informed the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.

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