Moscow Reports Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader stated the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on October 21.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

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

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the country's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," experts wrote.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis states the projectile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be able to reach goals in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the projectile can operate as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to engage.

The weapon, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An inquiry by a media outlet recently identified a site 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert informed the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the facility.

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