Russia Announces Successful Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the country's senior general.
"We have executed a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass missile defences.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The head of state stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.
"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the commander as saying.
The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.
A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank noted the identical period, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its entry into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists noted.
"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an incident causing several deaths."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the study asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to reach goals in the continental US."
The corresponding source also says the weapon can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, making it difficult for defensive networks to intercept.
The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.
An examination by a reporting service the previous year located a site 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the missile.
Employing space-based photos from last summer, an expert reported to the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.
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