Russia Confirms Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass anti-missile technology.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, according to a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency reported the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts stated.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing several deaths."

A defence publication cited in the study states the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the continental US."

The identical publication also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The projectile, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An inquiry by a news agency the previous year located a facility 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from the recent past, an analyst reported to the outlet he had observed nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.

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