Moscow Announces Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's leading commander.
"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying advanced armament, first announced in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid defensive systems.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.
The general reported the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on the specified date.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.
"As a result, it displayed advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the media source reported the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.
A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Moscow faces significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its induction into the state's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts stated.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident resulting in several deaths."
A military journal cited in the analysis asserts the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be capable to strike objectives in the United States mainland."
The identical publication also says the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.
The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a reporting service recently identified a site 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist reported to the service he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the location.
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