Moscow Confirms Effective Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the general informed the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to evade missile defences.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The national leader said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been carried out in last year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

The general reported the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.

"As a result, it demonstrated advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the same year, Moscow faces significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists stated.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident causing a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the report asserts the projectile has a range of between a substantial span, allowing "the missile to be based across the country and still be able to strike targets in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the weapon can operate as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above ground, making it difficult for defensive networks to intercept.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is considered propelled by a atomic power source, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An investigation by a news agency recently located a location a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an specialist informed the agency he had identified multiple firing positions in development at the site.

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