Russia Announces Effective Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the projectile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it demonstrated advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank commented the corresponding time, Russia confronts considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists noted.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study asserts the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be able to target goals in the American territory."

The identical publication also explains the projectile can fly as low as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a media outlet recently pinpointed a facility a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Using space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility.

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