Russia Confirms Successful Test of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the nation's senior general.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander told the head of state in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to bypass missile defences.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been conducted in 2023, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The general said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were determined to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, the nation faces considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists stated.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing several deaths."

A military journal cited in the analysis states the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to strike objectives in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the projectile can fly as low as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service recently identified a facility 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Employing satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst reported to the outlet he had detected several deployment sites under construction at the location.

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