Russia Confirms Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the state's senior general.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the commander reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to bypass missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The president said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the sky for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source quoted the official 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 recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank observed the corresponding time, the nation faces considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the country's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident causing multiple fatalities."

A defence publication referenced in the study claims the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to strike goals in the American territory."

The corresponding source also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above ground, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently located a location a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist told the agency he had observed multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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