Russia Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's top military official.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been held in the previous year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader reported the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it displayed high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in recent years.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the same year, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical cited in the study asserts the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently identified a site 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst told the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

Connected News

• National Leader Approves Amendments to Strategic Guidelines